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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29009490">saVage</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/greendotsandwords/pseuds/greendotsandwords'>greendotsandwords</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fandom, Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Shipwrecked, Build-up to Romance, Crack Treated Seriously, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gay Panic, Happy Ending, Humor, Inspired by Tarzan, Light Angst, Noble Savage, POV First Person, POV Judy Alvarez, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Stone Age Mantis Blades, This is ridiculous but I'm proud of it, Trippy, tropical island</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:22:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>32,715</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29009490</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/greendotsandwords/pseuds/greendotsandwords</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A marine biologist and avid BD scroller Judy Alvarez is sent on a research expedition to study and collect information on remaining species on our rapidly dying earth. The expedition doesn't go according to plan, and Judy finds some unexpected company on the island.</p><p>A big thank you to Hexpresso whose idea for a competition inspired this.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Judy Alvarez &amp; Female V, Judy Alvarez/Female V, Judy Alvarez/V</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>182</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>259</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Lizzie's Bar</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Washed up but alive</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/corchen/gifts">Hexpresso (corchen)</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a crack fic. I'm proud of the idea, so I'll roll with it, though. I initially wrote it for a Lizzie's Bar Valentine's Day competition, but after sleeping on it and finding myself with new ideas to add onto it... I decided to divide it into chapters and offer you this piece of madness instead. Thank you for giving me your time to read. You'll never get it back.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Judy Alvarez is on a research expedition, but things go horribly wrong, and she has to find herself in a new situation.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>It was going to be a routine trip to one of the islands in the Pacific Ocean, getting some material for BD scrolls. By routine, I mean desperately fighting against time, because acidity in the oceans began rising to levels that were actually incredibly hazardous to any lifeforms inhabiting them. And if there was nothing alive in the water, that meant nothing to study... Unless we're talking whoring out to Biotechnica to try and find ways to grow stuff from preserved seeds and archived DNA material, possibly so some asshole could have a nice, quaint aquarium in his CEO office.</p><p>The thought made me sick. I was still suffering from a bit of a heartbreak, my latest flame got doused by reality pretty quickly, and seeing Maiko pick her corpo career over our relationship. Yeah, okay, I threw a jealous fit or two, but as it turned out, she really was banging her assistant, so it wasn't completely unfounded. </p><p>In that respect, the trip was what I really, really needed emotionally, and I was glad when the opportunity came along. Many academics preferred to stay in and just research stuff, dismissing the tales of adventure and exploration as some ancient practices from centuries past. Bunch of self-important pricks. There was so much work to be done! So perhaps it was partly me getting over a break-up, and partly hooray for science.</p><p>As I was saying, the goal was to explore islands or any remote places really, if they were easily accessible, just to record... the wilderness. Islands were good targets for that. I still had hopes about some efforts to keep the oceans alive... but the pragmatic part of me was already considering a career change. Moving into education or BD editing. After all, it would need a lot of commentary to be educational. Properly educational. </p><p>Besides, different BDs would be necessary for different levels of education... cute and awe-inspiring for elementary school, cool and intriguing for later ages, and finally detailed and to the point, for higher education. Someone with an idea of what they were doing would have a much better chance at actually making them marketable to educational institutions. </p><p>But that was before our ship was attacked, so I had to rethink my plans on the double. A bunch of nerds with some token security thanks to Biotechnica's mercy in return for the copyrights for the BDs... Of course we didn't stand a chance against modern pirates. Gunshots and grenades were pretty good motivators for me to delta the fuck out of there. </p><p>The raid happened at night and I stopped feeling groggy really quickly the as world around me shook violently, and not in a good way, for sure. There was chaos all over, people screaming, pirates screaming even louder. I had no idea what to do, trying to fight whatever was going on seemed futile. I just grabbed the emergency pack that was stowed in each cabin... and ran.</p><p>I got to the mess hall, only to almost trip over the bodies of Tom and Roxanne, our anthropologist and flora experts respectively. My habit of midnight snacking not rearing its ugly head that night probably saved my life... But my dinner came up instead and I had to stop to puke in the corner of the room. My vision turned even more blurry because of feeling sick and crying at the same time, but my instincts kept guiding me away from the ship.  </p><p>The others... I was too afraid to call out and ask. Yes, I was a fucking coward, but at least I made it out to tell the story. Besides, even an octopus knows when to behave like a rock formation, or use active camouflage to avoid danger. And I was going to slink my way out of that inferno without death stopping me.</p><p>There was smoke, fire, the pirates must have gotten the tech they wanted and decided to scuttle everything else to make any recovery missions difficult... After all, the black-box would stop at the end of the bottom of the sea, and the pirates could be miles and miles away, making them less likely to be found. I still managed to get to the deck (somehow, I really, really don't remember how) and activated one of the emergency float drones. </p><p>There was so much metal and sharp plastic of all sorts already floating in the oceans that regular inflatable boats were hardly ever reliable, and a new solution had to be implemented – a light alloy raft that kept floating and had well protected ballast tanks underneath it to make sure that it supported the human weight. It even had a retractable solar panel with some emergency electronics that could be used in case of an emergency like this. </p><p>Bit of an old-school solution, but at least it worked. I watched the ship slowly get devoured by the water, floating away into... some direction. I exhaled. I made it out, thank fuck. At that moment, the engine, perhaps the boiler room, well, something an engineer should have concerned themselves with, decided to explode. At that moment I had no idea what happened, I just knew that I got pushed off my raft, maybe with the raft. Everything went dark and that was the last I ever saw of RV Endurance.</p><p>I woke up coughing. Part of it was saltwater, part of it was sand. I was either on the bottom of the ocean, dying, or I was... was I on the shore? I rolled to my stomach and kept coughing up whatever refuse found its way into my system, I think I found a bubble gum wrapper in there, too. It was a damn miracle that I didn't choke.</p><p>The question was... where the fuck was I? I could feel sun burning my skin, I was thirsty (for sweet water, please... ), hungry too. Worst part was, I didn't seem to have a connection to the net. No terminals in sight either. Just the sea, sand, and lots of palm trees. I sat up and looked around, hissing in pain. I felt a burn, as the slight acidity of water didn't do wonders for my skin. There were no ships on the horizon, no rigs, not a single sign of human activity. Except for the plastic soup on the surface of water.</p><p>If luck had been on my side, I would have wandered around the island long enough before stumbling into a tourist resort... But those usually had some form of net coverage, so that option was kind of out of the question. I had a rough idea where we were in the Pacific, as rough as one could get from waking up <strong>somewhere</strong>... after <strong>some time</strong> spent drifting in an <strong>unknown</strong> direction away from the Endurance. </p><p>In layman's terms, I was fucked. But I wouldn't put that in the abstract, if any of you were considering a career in the academia. Unless it's studies on the practical aspects of human sexuality. Or linguistics. Damn, those guys got away with a lot.</p><p>It took me some effort to get into the shade. That was a bit of relief from the sun, at least. Now that the glare was gone and I could see a bit more clearly, a certain shape caught my attention. No fuckin' way... It was my emergency go-bag! I crawled towards it from the shade and cradled it to my chest as if it were my only salvation. It squelched, which told me enough. It must have been perforated, at least enough for it to be filled with water. I hoped some of the contents remained inside.</p><p>I moved back to the shade. There was water, thankfully. I downed it, using some of it to clear my throat from the remnants of the sand, and the rest to quench my thirst. I've never been that thirsty in my entire life. Most of the food in plastic tubs was gone, or there were salted remains of it on the inside of the fabric. But there were some cans. It could have been the foulest kibble, but I ate it without thinking and it was only then that I started thinking a bit more clearly. I ate a lot. Probably should have thought about it earlier, but hungry castaways were never known to be great at planning.</p><p>I had to see what else was left in the bag. A knife with a handy magnesium fire starter rod attached to the it with a bit of cord, through a small hole on the handle. Always useful. A few feet of paracord. A box of a water purification agent. Some basic first aid stuff... Hand warmers, and a well compressed sleeping bag in a reinforced box. This was some Stone Age shit. I wrinkled my nose back then, but I didn't know just how lucky I was to have these things.  </p><p>The electronics were fried. Whatever damaged the bag either must have caused them to activate in adverse conditions... or the acidity got to them. That pack must have been on the ship for a few years and didn't account for the changes in the sea. Besides, those packs were designed for having net coverage, using the damn electronics, and calling in help to be rescued within a day or two, at most.</p><p>I had to start thinking about survival. I looked at the empty cans and the bottle. I'd wash them out and use them for weather collection. There would be morning dew, rainfall, and there was sand and ground to perform some basic water purification, minimizing the risk of dysentery making me die in agony.</p><p>Food would be a lot trickier. But with a knife, I could at least make myself a makeshift spear and some other tools. Maybe try to fish... But that would be like being a librarian and setting everything on fire at your work place. I wished Roxie was here with me, there would be less risk of me poisoning myself accidentally.</p><p>I vaguely remembered a course I've taken before the first expedition. It seemed like such a stupid thing to have to sit through. Being a castaway? In a world where medicine and technology could do pretty much anything? My arrogance was quietly giggling in an air-conditioned apartment somewhere in the civilized part of the world, while I was trying to find a spot where I could create a form of shelter.</p><p>I spent the first night on the ground, and regretted it a lot. I switched to a hammock made from the sleeping bag and some paracord for the following night, because of a lot of bug bites and back pain. I even managed to make a fire on my third day, after finally finding some wood that burned for longer than a few moments. </p><p>My ideas for water collection worked well enough, and after a few days of observing the local wildlife, I even managed to find bugs that I knew could be edible. I mean if it could go on a pizza, it was good enough for a marshmallow, right? For the record, they weren't great marshmallows, but they helped me be less hungry, and that was definitely a positive development.</p><p>Routine was what I needed, and I settled into it. Things were looking up, or so it seemed. Maybe it was just the start of it all and a bit of beginner's luck. I tried to avoid scorpions, spiders, and the big, fuck-off coconut crabs. They were fascinating, but creepy if they got too close.</p><p>I manged to find a flat-ish stone and nicked some eggs from local birds to fry them on that stone around noon. There weren't many mammals on the island, apart from some rodents, but birds and insects were numerous. I guessed that also meant no big predators, either.</p><p>Sometimes I'd watch whales and dolphins in the sea and envy them their ability to traverse water that way. I really wished I had my diving equipment with me. Exploring the local waters would have been such a treat...</p><p>Once I established a routine, I became increasingly braver in my explorations of the island. I kept to the shade, walked along the coast, and left myself arrow signs made from shells, so I knew where I came from and where I was going, in case I got lost. Sometimes, I just took walks to distract myself from being hungry. At other times, I'd hoped I'd find some useful piece of salvage washed up on the beach, miraculously working... anything to get me out of that place.  </p><p>It was so quiet there. So natural. It made me feel almost uneasy about being so far from advertisements, messages, phone calls, meetings... everything that was my daily life. I was so lost in thought that I almost didn't notice another person crouching at the shore.</p><p>Their skin bronzed from the sun in a much nicer way than mine, for sure. Then again, I was still healing up a few acid burns from floating in water for goodness knew how long. I froze at first, but then called out, “Hello?!” And that was stupid of me. Well, in a way.</p><p>The person, a woman, turned around and rushed towards me, snarling and ready to leap at me. I had my makeshift spear with me and my knife strapped to my trousers... I guess I looked armed enough to look threatening. She pounced on me within a matter of moments and held up... a balled fist above my head. She had some sort of a... dagger? Made from flint and wood, tied to her wrist. Must have been a cross between a tool and a weapon, to get rid of vines or stab fish or something, at first it looked as if it grew from her flesh like some freak combat implant, but that was just my associations bleeding through.</p><p>Her eyes were blue, with tints of green to them... pretty, like the sea, if you fished out all the plastic crap. Her hair was a bit of a mess at first sight, but I noticed it was just braided and had some sand and foliage in it, giving it a kind of a dreadlocked look. She looked at me for a moment, blinking. My absolutely terrified expression must have made her feel a bit less murderous. She leaned in to sniff my hair. It was still green and pink, would be for a few more weeks, sure, I must have looked odd to her. She tilted her head to the side and moved off of me, placing her hands on her hips as she sat on her ankles. </p><p>It was then that I realized that she was wearing some sort of a waist wrap, a loincloth... something, a tattered mini-skirt, just one that wouldn't hinder movement. And that was all. Not that I was really complaining, that woman was fit. And perky, too, so... It just really wasn't a good moment to admit that having that savage on top just moments before of me was kind of hot.</p><p>“Uhh...” I made a sound and she tilted her head to the side again. I could see her ears perk up, as if she were an animal. After a moment she repeated the sound. There was a harsh, husky tone to it. I gathered she didn't really speak much. If at all.</p><p>I raised my hand in a gesture of peace and greeting, “Hello...” I said and swallowed hard, "I... I'm really sorry I startled you.”</p><p>She licked her lips, frowning, then took a breath and repeated my, “Uhh...” to me again. The way she looked at the ground with effort made me wonder whether she wanted to speak but couldn't... or could, but didn't want to. She looked at my makeshift spear that I managed to drop a few feet away, then back at me. Then she unceremoniously picked it up and weighed it in her hand. With a flip of her wrist, she moved from a holding position to a throwing stance, then looked at it critically. My spear felt really judged.</p><p>I sat up and sighed, “Hey, so... do you speak, or do you just make sounds?” I decided to ask, but the moment I tried to take the spear from her, she focused on something behind me and I could feel one of her hands press on my leg, as if to try to make me remain still. A moment later her 'arm-dagger' thrust forward into the air behind me and moments later she was wrestling with what looked likeas a snake. A very bright and quick one, probably extremely dangerous, too. She grabbed it and wrapped it around the dagger, effectively carving the beast in two. She had the reflexes that would make corpo assassins jealous. Seemed inhuman. But she very much was. And she had just saved my life.</p><p>Her wild, focused eyes scanned the area, looking for more danger. Eventually, she exhaled and nodded, “Okay,” she said casually, then handed me my spear and began to move up. She walked back to the shore, then looked over her shoulder at me with a clear expectation of me following her... Whatever you say, topless, snake-killing lady. And then it hit me.</p><p>“Okay?” I blinked a few times, “So you speak?” I demanded. I said it loud enough to startle a few birds chilling in the nearby branches. Some of the ones floating on water, too.</p><p>The woman looked the dead snake, then at me, shrugging, “Okay now,” she confirmed and poked the dead reptile on the sand as if to confirm. Then she wrinkled her nose and shook her head. She probably noticed the way I was staring at that snake... maybe a bit too hungrily.</p><p>She beckoned me to come with her and I followed, too curious for my own good. This was surreal, but she seemed to know what she was doing, so I made my way to the shore with her. It turned out that she had a few traps set up in the shallows, for crabs and such. Some even caught small fish. If she was used to it... and there seemed to be quite a few fish there, despite trash, then whatever acid or poison content there was in the fish... she must have built an immunity to it.</p><p>Then again, I fried bird eggs on a hot stone and I was okay, so maybe she wasn't that crazy. And she looked good, no doubt about that. She dove to retrieve her catches and emerged, smiling at me with pride. Droplets of water were running down her bronzed skin, her eyes were sparkling with joy, she was panting from keeping her breath underwater, so her breasts and abs were moving, glistening in the sun... and I was staring, like I really shouldn't have.</p><p>“Nice catch,” I said, probably blushing as I looked up into her eyes. I wasn't sure what was worse. Her being barely dressed or that beautiful gaze. I just looked away completely.</p><p>“Food,” she said and started moving again, deeper into the forest.</p><p>“Wait! No!” I realized that my stuff was still back at my little camp.</p><p>She looked over her shoulder, mildly confused and annoyed.</p><p>“No food?” she wondered. It was my turn to beckon her.</p><p>“Yes food. I just... I'm not going into that forest. I have my stuff... back... at a different spot? My things? Home?” I tried.</p><p>Hearing the last word, she pointed into the forest and nodded. I shook my head and took her free, unarmed hand. Kind of a big step there, but I was kind of out of options, “Come on. I'll show you.”</p><p>My new friend spent a few good minutes exploring my setup: she sniffed around my hammock, frowned at my campfire in confusion. On the plus side, she smiled and nodded at my little dew-gathering operation. Finally, some fucking approval for my survival skills.</p><p>She looked around, as if waiting for me to do something, “Things?” she finally asked and gestured around.</p><p>“Uh... yeah? What about them?”</p><p>“No home. Home there,” she pointed in to the forest again, then made a beckoning gesture with her head. For a moment I wondered whether it was a U-Haul joke. We held hands, after all. I briefly considered my options. I could stay here, be hungry, get burned or have a scorpion bite me or whatever... or I could go with her, obviously better suited to surviving on the island, and see what she had to offer. She didn't look like a netrunner to me, but maybe she at least had some form of a better shelter... Besides, she was human, she spoke some English, and she seemed friendly enough. What could go wrong?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The U-haul</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They've known each other for a few hours now, so why not move in together? Judy manages to learn the stranger's name... and a few other things about her.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I watched way too many primitive technology videos for this chapter. I hope it makes sense. Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>The U-haul</strong>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>When I was packing, dismantling my little camp, I couldn't help but notice her stealing furtive glances at me from time to time. I wondered whether it was just the presence of another human being, or she was just checking me out. Could get awkward if it was the latter, because we couldn't really go out for coffee and see if we aligned in that way. </p><p>Still, she was calm, friendly, and helpful, so as far as savage strangers went, she seemed like preem company. I really hoped she wouldn't turn out to be a psycho, but since I had already agreed to go to her place, I had little choice in the matter.</p><p>I finished packing my things into the punctured bag, making sure nothing was going to fall out. I used a bit of paracord to create a netting on the bigger hole, wrapping the tough line around the bag. Before we headed out, I offered her a drink from one of my water collection cans (the ones I emptied in my initial hunger) and she took it with a smile, slurping loudly, then making that noise every person makes in soft drink ads. Ultimate refreshment.</p><p>My bedroll turned hammock was the bulkiest of my possessions, so I rolled it and put it under my arm, then nodded at her, “Okay. Home,” I informed, hoping I wasn't going to regress intellectually around here, “I mean... Let's go home. Lead the way,” I added, nodding into the general direction of the forest.</p><p>She moved quickly, and I had to ask her to slow down a few times. It wasn't because I wasn't in shape, it was because she was in great shape, and used to the terrain. Besides, the last couple of days were kind of tough, with the whole thing about almost dying and then being hungry and a bit miserable. </p><p>Finally she stopped and guided my hand to her shoulder so I could get a bit of support while walking and could tug on her to slow down or stop in case I needed a breather. I tried to not think too much about how nice and warm her skin felt. Honestly, I felt really bad about my mind going there, but I wasn't a machine and she had this odd... charm about her.</p><p>I kept looking around for more snakes, or any kind of danger, watching my step so as not to aggravate any giant spiders or other creatures. Meeting another human being after washing ashore and managing to not die was an achievement, and dying because of something stupid would be embarrassing. </p><p>We were still a bit away from her home, but I could notice it at a distance. And the fact that it wasn't just some ramshackle hut from the dawn of mankind was already damn impressive. It looked... pretty, almost like an image pasted into a picture of a jungle, then edited to make it appear as if it was really there. Except this house was. It wasn't put together to survive, it was built with care, using tools, clearly with some decent knowledge and consciousness of human standards of housing and likely expanded upon over time especially considering the surroundings. I stopped when I saw it, blinking. </p><p>“What the fuck?!” I called out, pointing at the house, “This is your home?” it really didn't fit her wardrobe, but who the hell was I to judge mismatched styles? She couldn't say a complete sentence, but she had this as a place to live in? Nothing was going to convince me that she built it herself. It looked too... engineered. The angles were too right, the roof was nicely thatched...</p><p>“Yeah. Home,” she nodded and smiled, putting her unarmed hand on her hip and looking at the house with a fond grin. She nodded at me to follow while she gave me a small tour of the outside facilities, so to speak.</p><p>It was elevated from the ground by around half a meter, accessed by a small ladder. The 'floor' was made from was sturdy wood attached to much larger trees with twine made from younger, more flexible small branches. It almost didn't look made out of wood, because of the mixture of mud and straw that was put on the front of it to give it an almost brick look. What gave it away was the small windows covered with a netted material to provide ventilation, but without inviting insects inside – they looked barred, but in fact they were simply fragments of the frame that weren't reinforced with the mud clay.</p><p>There was even some kind of a... cellar? I wasn't even sure. Underneath the wooden flooring there were stones held together by a primitive form of mortar, one that used mud and straw together with clay instead of cement, must have been added later, once whoever lived there had settled in a bit more. The stone allowed for a small expansion of the wooden frame – into a kind of roofed patio, where the floor was covered with the same mixture of mud mixed with water and straw. It seemed  smooth and I wondered if it was nice to walk on. Must have been, since my new friend wasn't sporting any shoes.</p><p>There was even some kind of a stove on that patio, it was unreal. Made from the prevalent material, using the reliable method of mixing the ingredients I had mentioned earlier. It was pretty amazing, with space for some pots – that meant any cylindrical vessels with one side open that have washed up and could be used as one. And a hole for cooking on the open fire.</p><p>But that wasn't the kicker. The real kicker was... something along the lines of a pond or a moat that half-circled the whole structure, a bit of a pool, or a bath... I wasn't entirely sure. It served well as a water reservoir for sure, and it even had little fish in it, some plants... a small ecosystem of its own, kept safe from all the trash  floating in the ocean. It was adorable.</p><p>Speaking of trash, though, some larger elements were fished out and used as well, in all manner of clever ways, such as additional insulation from rain, or a quick cover over the pool in case of a more acidic rain. Perhaps there were even more clever uses for plastic refuse inside, I was really curious about that.</p><p>Another structure next to the house looked like a set of four steps for a giant with a more accessible set of steps next to it. It was a way of purifying water, where collected water was at the bottom, drawn like from a well... then poured to the top part where stones gathered up some of the bacteria, before it dripped further down until it was at the bottom most part, it the state safest to drink. Someone thought this through.</p><p>“This is amazing... Unbelievable... Holy fucksticks, How did this happen?” I kept looking around with my jaw dropped, in sheer awe of this slice of civilization in the middle of a very slightly uninhabited island. Tropical Paradise no. 451, population: 2.</p><p>“Mom... dad...” she shrugged and frowned.</p><p>“Your mom and dad are here? They built it?” I asked, still unsure of what she could possibly mean. Did we just jump from population 2 to 4? And what if I was about to meet them and they'd just KNOW I had been checking their daughter out? If so, we were gonna have to rename this place Awkward Town.</p><p>She didn't respond to my question and kept frowning instead, “Come in,” she said instead and took my hand again to lead me to the small ladder. I threw the bedroll onto the patio, then climbed up. I stood in front of the door and lifted my hand as if expecting some kind of a sensor to open it. Of course it wasn't going to happen... I cleared my throat and reached down to what looked like a very simple handle and pushed it open. Someone even made hinges... were hinges difficult to make? I had no clue.</p><p>It smelled a bit funky, but homely. Then again, I didn't really want to think about how I smelled. There was a fireplace at the far end of the main room, so to speak. There was a table and three chairs, some very makeshift counters. Some with tools, some with fruit. There were a few earthen cups and bigger vessels, too, along with some cleaned and empty plastic bottles, reused many times and still in great working order.</p><p>The room also had a makeshift double bed, covered with leaves and some fabrics mixed in, some of them definitely man-made, perhaps scavenged, dried old clothes? I wouldn't know. It must have been replaced a few times or just tinkered with to improve quality of sleep. It would look more like a lair than a bed, were it not for several straw pillows were at the head of it, along with what looked like... a  very weathered, but still a plushie. </p><p>It must have been made from an old fleece jacket, because it looked really pleasant to touch while incredibly simple in design. It had eyes, a nose, a mouth, two flappy ears... Someone made it with a lot of love.</p><p>There was another room in the house, too. It looked at storage at first, but oddly enough, it had another bed in there, too, just moved up against the wall to create more space for a variety of things – mostly pieces of wood, plastic, and metal that could be used to make tools, makeshift oars, fabrics.</p><p>“Wow... This is... nice, really nice,” I managed finally. It still felt surreal, way too well built for someone who could barely hold an exchange of words, “Look, there are three chairs here. Three,” I held up the corresponding number of fingers, “Where are your mom and dad?” I asked her as she took off her hand blade and set it on the counter, massaging her wrist.</p><p>She sighed at my repeated inquiries. With a frown, she walked up to me and took my sleeping bag from me to threw it onto the bed. I was then led outside, a bit deeper into the forest. There were two graves there. Marked with names and dates – wooden carvings attached to crosses. The dates didn't use the calendar in the way I knew it.</p><p>Ramon Conwell, survived 11 years. Hannah Conwell. Survived 9 years. That didn't tell me how long she had been there, but even considering they had her within the first year... Was she born here? Did they manage to escape from whatever calamity that happened to them with their child...?</p><p>When I was at university, she must have been alone here already. While I was getting my PhD, she was here, honing her ability to survive. Alone, with only the graves of her parents to keep her company.  Jeez, that was fucked up. There was that frown again. I felt so sorry for her. I wanted to hug her, but then I realized she was adamant in staying topless. Instead, I reached out slowly and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as we stood by the graves in respectful silence. She squeezed back.</p><p>“What's your name?” I wondered after a few moments, “I'm Judy.”</p><p>She opened her mouth and gave me a quizzical look, her ears perking up.</p><p>“Judy,” I repeated, “You can call me Jude, too,” I reassured.</p><p>She pointed at me, poking her index finger against my sternum, “Joodee,” she managed. I guess the other words she spoke were... something more familiar. I nodded, “Judy, yeah,” I smiled at her, “What's your name?” I repeated my question.</p><p>She struggled again, her lips contorting into a shape, as if trying to make an F sound.</p><p>“Felicia?” I tried. She shook her head and frowned at me. I stopped trying.</p><p>“Vee...” she managed and breathed out. But it didn't seem like she was done, “Vee... Ey... Ell...”</p><p>I started to piece things together. Someone had at least started teaching her to read, to put letters together.</p><p>“Val...?” I offered, now that I had more letters. She looked at me in shock and awe and nodded enthusiastically, putting her hands on my shoulders, urging me to continue.</p><p>“Valerie?” she nodded again, beaming a beautiful, wide smile at me. I couldn't help but smile back at her, but for some reason, we both looked away and she took a step back.</p><p>“Vee,” she offered, with more confidence in her own pronunciation, “Vee!”</p><p>“Judy and V... “ I smiled, happy to see her victory as well. Maybe in time... Maybe I could remind her about language. My stomach grumbled and I cringed, it cramped with hunger, “Okay. So... food?” I offered. Felt a bit bad to have my stomach growl in front of her parents. V nodded and led me back to the house. She took my pack and set it by the bed, then sat me down on one of the chairs and proceeded to make us something to eat.</p><p>It was a feast. We had roast crab, the freshest catch, luxurious and delicious. With that, some fruit that V knew would be okay for our fragile human stomachs, she even had some sort of a root that we roast over the fire. I wasn't sure what I could compare it to... but it was amazing. And that with enough water that I had to excuse myself to a little outhouse she had, in a safe distance away from the house.</p><p>“Thank you,” I said to V after we sat on a long bench outside by a small campfire, watching the waves at night, glimmering in the distance through the tree line.</p><p>“No prob,” V replied, as if feeding a stranger and just hanging out with me after saving me from a snake was the most casual thing in the world.</p><p>“No prob? Wow, who even says that? You're a gonk...” I shook my head in disbelief at her choice of words.</p><p>V frowned and let out this odd, growling sound, “No, you gonk!” she clearly seemed offended. I looked up at her.</p><p>“What... you know the word gonk? How the hell do you know that?”</p><p>“Mom told dad. You gonk. A lot,” she chuckled, then looked away, her eyes glazed over with a clear sense of loss. She must have missed her parents. How old was she even when they passed? It was hard to tell exactly, but she was clearly an adult.</p><p>“Stay. Please,” V uttered after a few more moments of silence. She still sounded pained, she looked at me with this quiet fear, as if I was going to go away, never return. And I didn't want to say no. Not ever. Besides, sleeping under a roof? No ants or scorpions? What a treat. We'd just have to get that bed down again. I could fit on it.</p><p>“Okay,” I nodded. V yawned and stood up, moving inside to lie down on the bed and cuddle her plushie to her chest. I followed her but stopped, unsure where I should sleep. And she was kind of on my sleeping bag. Partially. Then again, I didn't want to disturb her bedtime ritual. I couldn't help but look at her sleeping companion and she noticed.</p><p>“Is Ackie.”</p><p>“Yeah... I can see...” I quipped, thinking she may have been saying the Spanish aqui, meaning 'here'.</p><p>V's hand shot forward and she offered me a closer look at her plushie, “Ackie. Friend,” she explained.</p><p>“Oh... oh right. Sure! Hi, Ackie... Nice to meet you,” I nodded and gave the plushie a friendly poke, like a belly tickle. V tilted her head to the side at my reaction, then smiled and cuddled Ackie back.</p><p>“Come sleep,” she patted the space in front of her, inviting me to be her little spoon. Oh shit. I was not ready for that. I mean a part of me really was, but... we had really only met and I had no idea how to handle that. I couldn't deny she was attractive, and she kept stealing glances, too... But I would feel uncomfortable doing anything if the understanding between us was so limited.</p><p>“V, can I sleep on the other bed, please?” I thumbed at the other room. Maybe there was still hope. I was tired, I didn't feel like arguing with her, but I wasn't sure if I could fall asleep in good conscience, while sharing the bed with her. V looked at me with a squint, then in the direction of the other room, then back at me. She sighed and got up with a grumpy growl.</p><p>With what looked like very little effort, she moved the bed into the main room, which was fair, the storage didn't have that much space for it to be in its natural position, then placed it across from her bed, so we could easily have eye-contact when sleeping. Or trying to sleep. The bed was bare, there was nothing on it. My back would possibly suffer. V looked at it and posed a silent question at me. She had a point.</p><p>“Okay, fine,” I looked at her and nodded at her bed. She perked up visibly and moved to what was now her half, closer to the wall, patting the space for me.</p><p>“Can I have my sleeping bag, please?” I asked and pointed at my multipurpose cover after I sat on the bed. V retrieved it from underneath her, “Blanky?” she asked me, squinting in confusion.</p><p>“Yes. Can I have it?” I reached out and touched it, tugging on it gently. V let go of it, unsure of what my intention was, but remained calm and curious. I slowly sat down on the bed, then moved to lie down, facing away from her, covering myself with the sleeping bag to separate us from each other, especially considering that V wasn't wearing a lot. Once I settled, I felt her loosely drape one arm over me. </p><p>At first I tensed up. What was she doing? Damnit, she was seeking a bit of human contact after years of isolation... And I was stressing over it? I exhaled and relaxed, she made no further moves, just that one touch, as if she wanted to confirm I was there. It felt... comforting. I ended up feeling grateful for. Fuck, I wanted to cry. I had almost died in a pirate raid. Then an explosion almost killed me. I washed up on an island with little to no supplies... But there was another human being with me. And a capable survivor at that, I was somewhere on an island with </p><p>“Goonight,” V said, then giggled to herself, “Goonight,” she repeated, clearly overjoyed to have someone to say it to. Someone alive, someone who said it back.</p><p>“Good night, V. Sweet dreams,” I replied, smiling. I wriggled my hand from underneath my cover and gave her palm a pat. I somehow knew she wouldn't hurt me. I fell asleep in no time.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A sign from the sky</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The morning after Judy's first night at V's house starts out nice and calm. But is everything what it seems in this tropical paradise?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I had a lot of fun researching ancient toothpaste and primitive techniques of making soap for this one. Charcoal is AMAZING.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I woke up alone, a bit disoriented. It took me a moment to remember that I was at V's house... and that we shared her bed in the most platonic way. A bed where her now dead parents used to sleep. Possibly where she may have been conceived. I sat up, more awake than I wished to be. The night at this place left me much better rested than the first few days, probably because I felt safer, and I didn't wake up every hour or two, checking for all sorts of possibly lethal invertebrates crawling over me. Looking over the bed, I saw Ackie in his designated place, resting on a pillow on V's side of the bed. That must have meant she didn't get up in a hurry or an emergency.</p><p>With a yawn and a good rub to my eyes, I stood up and stretched. There was a folded piece of fabric, relatively clean, placed on one of the chairs. From afar, and if I were at a hotel, it could have fooled me as a towel. But I definitely wasn't in one, even though this place was five stars in my situation. It did look like a washcloth. I wondered whether it was a suggestion or something V left for her return. Maybe she'd put her catch of spoils of forage on it after washing them?</p><p>A cup of coffee would be a dream. Just something to enjoy while sitting on the patio, looking out into the ocean, listening to it... I made my way to the door and opened it. My housemate was nowhere to be found, at least not in my line of view.</p><p>“V?” I called out, frowning. She didn't bail on me overnight, right? After all, it was her idea to come here and share the bed. She couldn't have...</p><p>“Joodee!” came a shout, somewhere from behind the house, at least to my ears. I breathed out in relief. Now that I got baited to join her at the height of luxury, I wasn't gonna let her ditch me. Not that I was very good at tracking, especially someone like her, who just screamed SURVIVAL but hey...</p><p>I made my way around the house and saw V in a tub of sorts. She was washing her hair and her body, it seemed to be a part of a morning ritual. She had what looked like... an old toothbrush between her lips, she waved at me and smiled. Her teeth had black residue on them... it didn't look right. Then I remembered some fun fact Tom had shared with me about charcoal being used as a form of proto-toothpaste in ancient times.</p><p>She looked like such a gonk, I just shook my head, “Getting clean, I see? Should I, uh, leave you to it?”</p><p>V shook her head and squinted, she took a sip of water from a cup nearby and washed out her mouth, spitting outside the tub, “All done,” she said and got out of the tub onto a mat of sorts, made from leaves. Needless to mention, she was in her full naked glory, not that the wrap that covered her privates left a lot to the imagination, but still. I didn't feel right looking at her. Fuck, I should have realized that... Blushing, I cleared my throat and looked away. </p><p>V dried herself vigorously and moved on to washing her wrap in a smaller tub. It seemed that she was taught to keep clean, stick to a routine of hygiene. While I stood there, unsure what to do or where to look, she looked up at me from her hand-washing, “Your turn,” she nodded at the tub, “No waste,” she added, talking about conserving resources as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.</p><p>Oh right, so that was what the towel thing was for... I backtracked to the house and found the towel. Was she expecting me to just go bathe there, in her presence? On one hand, it would be only fair and we were both women so it wasn't like it would necessarily have to turn awkward... on the other hand, well, I had all the weapons in my arsenal to make it seem extremely weird between us.</p><p>It kind of struck me in that very moment, how easy it was for my mind to go there. Back in the city, even the uni campus had a lot of ads for different drinks and snacks, and I couldn't think of a single one that wasn't referencing sex or pleasure in some way. My stupid gonk brain was just wired to see sex, want it, and think of it as a commodity, something like breathing or grabbing a meal. </p><p>I was one step ahead, though. Seeing V's... neutral, non-suggestive behavior... it was sobering. I needed it and in that moment I decided that I was not going to let my fuckin' instincts get the better of me. Sure, she was looking, but hello, I was the first human being she'd seen in years. Making it awkward would likely cost you your only friend on that island, Judy.</p><p>“Okay,” I returned with the towel and began to strip, putting my clothes on a small stool by the big tub. I kept wearing this really neat long-sleeve and leggings set, made from a fabric that was amazing at regulating temperature, not just in the cold, but in the heat as well, with my overalls on top of it so I didn't look like a some net-runner. In a pinch, the thermal underwear could double as decent gear to dive in, but definitely not if I were to go very deep or for very long. It dried pretty quickly, too.</p><p>I managed to remove all clothes from the top part of my body when I could feel V's curious stare on me. She hummed and stood up, watching me from her hand wash station, a few meters away from me. Squinting, I looked at myself, still not establishing eye-contact. Was I hurt? Was there something wrong with me?</p><p>V began to giggle, her brows raised in complete and utter disbelief. She wrung her wrap as dry as she could and left it to hang on a small rack made from sticks, then walked up to me to poke one of the roses, the one on my shoulder.</p><p>“Joodee flowers,” she pointed out, scratching at the tattoo, then looking at me in confusion.</p><p>“Judy Alvarez,” I corrected, smirking. Tattoos seemed like a novelty to V, but her touch was completely innocent.</p><p>“Judy A-flowers, yeah,” she shrugged, as if it was exactly what I had said and the name made complete sense to her, as it should to me as well. She then leaned in to try and smell the flower on my shoulder, then moved away, even more confusion. I couldn't help but chuckle. Why did she have to be so damn cute about everything?</p><p>“Is no flower,” she pointed out and put her hands on her hips, as if someone expecting a thorough explanation. I could briefly see her eye the cobweb on my left breast before she looked away and squinted at the shark with a cannon attached to it.</p><p>“No, it's not. It's a tattoo. It's when, uh...” I was going to need some help with this. I managed to find a stick on the ground, then wrapped a thin leaf around it, so the end of it looked a bit spiky, “There's a person who can draw really well... Make nice art. And then they have a special needle,” I reached out to take V's hand and very gently poked her skin with my pretend tattoo gun to show the process,. She frowned at first, but the pokes made her grin, she must have found it entertaining.</p><p>“And there's ink in the needle, it puts color on the skin. And you can have all sorts of things on your skin. Letters, words, anything really,” I poked her a few more times, then moved my hand away. V looked very disappointed.</p><p>“No flowers...” she held up her hand. I had no clue what to tell her. I hated that I couldn't help her in the matter. I wondered if she'd really appreciate the the sting of the needle, that challenge of sitting still and trying not to whimper while a lady doing your latest piece was definitely way too attractive and the fact she heard you making sounds you shouldn't be making only added to how charged the entire situation was.</p><p>I threw my pretending stick away, “Yeah, sorry, V. It's not a real tattoo gun, anyway, so...” I didn't even finish my sentence when V leapt away from me and behind the tub, making herself as small as possible, curling up as if she were in grave danger. What the fuck happened...? </p><p>“V...?” I asked very gently, then moved to her, placing my hand on her shoulder, “Are you okay?”</p><p>It was as if she went into flight or fight, “All good?” she asked, “No g-gun?” it instantly made things click in my head, I sighed and shook my head. Her parents must have taught her that when one of them mentions a firearm, the best course of action is to run. And considering the circumstances, it was definitely decent advice. It was heartbreaking to see her that way, to have a moment of innocent fun between us ruined by one fuckin' word.</p><p>“Yes, it's all good... Just...that was the name for the tool to make tattoos,” I tried my best to explain, but wasn't sure just how well she'd understand that in her frightened state, “I'm sorry, Valerie,” I said and gave her shoulder a squeeze, to show I meant it.</p><p>“Vee,” she corrected me. Well, the preference for the short form seemed strong, so I promised myself to stick to it.</p><p>“I'm sorry, V,” I repeated and added another squeeze.</p><p>“Okay. No gun, we safe,” she replied and sat up, exhaling in relief. I still had my hand on her shoulder and was looking at her from the back at that moment. It occurred to me that she had something along the lines of a bug on her neck, so I reached out under her damp braids to try and remove it. I didn't know about any bugs that felt that man-made... It turned out to be an output for a personal link connection. I leaned in to take a look at it and V glanced over her shoulder at me, “Joodee?” she asked, unsure as to what I was doing.</p><p>“Shit...” I breathed out, finding it difficult to believe. She had a slot for a shard as well... but both of them looked like they were proprietary. Definitely not the bog standard ones. I felt my stomach sink. What the fuck was going on here?</p><p>“No, no, V clean,” she pointed out and began sniffing herself. Was she even aware of this? Why? How...?</p><p>“Yes, very clean...” I said and sighed. There was no use asking her about it, but it opened many questions in my head, and I felt a bit sick. Maybe that bath would help me think clearer, since I wasn't expecting water to be warm, “All good, V, don't worry,” I gave her shoulder a pat and got up to continue undressing so I could wash myself.</p><p>I considered a few possible courses of action. V was much older when she got to the island, since people usually didn't get those before their teens, unless there was... what corpospeak called a 'sufficient and plausible medical requirement'... Except that sometimes translated to parents down on their luck lending out kids to corpo experiments. Fuck. </p><p>Or maybe, her parents died of old age... Perhaps she suffered some form of brain damage and she couldn't communicate properly, reacting very strongly to certain triggers. What was I even thinking, believing that this was suddenly going to get easy? I got into the tub, the cold bother didn't even bother me that much.</p><p>V decided to join me. She moved my things from the stool to a bundle of fresh leaves she found, big and verdant, then sat down on the stool and handed me what looked like a shell. I blinked and looked at her, but accepted the gift, confounded. The waxy texture made me look up at her. This was the stuff of my abuela's times...</p><p>“Soap? What the fuck, V, how on earth did you get soap?” I held up the shell-shaped wonder, speaking way louder and with way more anger bubbling up than I had intended. It was just that... she jumps into cover at the mention of a gun, has cyberware outputs... And now she has fucking soap. It even showed signs of use, but it was definitely recently made.</p><p>V stared at me for a moment, frowning.</p><p>“Why so loud?” she asked, obviously not sure what to make of my temper, “Joodee not okay? V can go,” the woman, still butt-naked, I might add, looked at me, trying to determine what she managed to do to earn this outburst.</p><p>“No, don't go... I just... Everything is confusing me today. Including this soap. Where did you get it? It's pretty,” I managed to exhale enough anger in the first time I asked to try it in a calmer manner this time.</p><p>“Made it,” she shrugged at first, then showed hummed and moved, gathering a few things, as if preparing her own presentation. Hopefully it was going to be less anxiety-inducing than my tattoo gun.</p><p>I started to wash myself in the meantime. The soap was primitive, and it didn't smell as nice as my favourite mango-papaya sweet sensation balm, but it did its job, and I thought that was it by design. Not more, not less. Efficiency and frugality seemed to be the theme here.</p><p>V returned with a piece of metal which held pieces of charcoal and some sort of nuts or budding fruit on it, not yet matured. In her other hand, she had some fat in a shell that looked to be the mold for the final shape of the soap. She held up the piece of metal as if to show it. The ingredients looked measured and neatly arranged. I wondered whether her parents taught her that. They must have had enough knowledge of chemistry to know about that... you don't just invent soap like that... I wouldn't.</p><p>V began using a worn piece of wood like a pestle, crushing them into a fine, almost powder-like consistency. She then held up the shell with fat.</p><p>“Heat...” she explained, then set the shell down to pick up the piece of metal with one hand while pointing at the charcoal with the other, “Water... uh, filter,” her finger tapped the now green powder from the nuts and young fruit. It was pleasantly fragrant, “Add... cook,” she made a stirring motion, then tapped her knee, as if signifying the need to wait, “On shell... and soap,” she shrugged, as if it was quite obvious to her. She shot me a proud grin, “Mum knew,” V nodded.</p><p>“That's cool,” I admitted. My initial anger faded away. Her mother must have had some background in chemistry, then. Or maybe it was a hobby. People had all sorts of weird things they did in their free time, after all.</p><p>“Yeah... Mum... was cool,” a shadow of grief passed V's face. Loss stung her again and she let out a sigh, her shoulders slumped. I wasn't sure whether I should say anything.</p><p>“Joodee is, not was,” she perked up after a moment and put her hand on the edge of the bath, slowly snaking towards poking the rose on my arm again, “Joodee Aflowers,” she smiled sheepishly before moving her hand away. Was that... what was it? Either she was really into flowers, loved the idea of my tattoos... or just wanted to have an excuse to touch me. It almost felt to me like she thought of it very consciously, just to be able to execute that maneuver. But it was an assumption I couldn't confirm at that point, so I just awkwardly smiled back and poked her in the arm in return.</p><p>“And V the Soap-maker. Smart,” I smiled.</p><p>“Food time,” she let out a nervous chuckle as she moved her hand away and stood up from the stool to start walking back tot he house at a brisk pace. I may or may not have stolen a glance her while she did. There was just too much bounce in her step and not only that for me not to notice it in the corner of my eye. “Clean fast, okay?” she glanced over her shoulder. Jeez, I hoped she did not notice...</p><p>“Okay,” I nodded and showed her a thumbs up, like a complete and utter gonk. Who the hell even did these things? I looked at the shell-shaped bar of soap in my hand and smiled. Human ingenuity struck again. I didn't linger in the bath and I dried myself, deciding to give my regular as well as my underwear a wash as well, just quickly. I was thankful I kind of remembered how abuela did that thing where she soaked an item of clothing in water and then vigorously rubbed it to get the stains out. She'd say it was quicker the washing machine. Especially if it was a wine stain on the tablecloth... or a sudden nosebleed dripping on my t-shirt when I was a kid.</p><p>The hand washing took some time and wasn't nearly half as much fun as one could expect from having to manually clean clothes, but hey, it was better than stinking. And if V had a regimen in that regard, there was no way I was going to let myself get behind. I used the towel fabric, even though it was still damp, to make a sash to cover my breasts and tie it in a more or less secure manner, then pulled on my overalls. I was pretty happy with it, it ended up looking like a decent crop top.</p><p>I found V in the house, preparing two bowls of breakfast. She had an over-sized t-shirt on her, it covered her to mid-thighs. Maybe it used to belong to her father, maybe it washed up on someone...or without an owner on the island at some point. It was weathered, it lost its pristine whiteness into something more beige in many spots, had a few small holes, but it looked like comfy house-wear, or just something to throw on while waiting for your main laundry to dry.</p><p>We sat down to eat, V had made us some kind of a porridge. The cereal looked a bit like cooked rice spliced with another type of cereal, mixed with coconut milk, with a few slices of banana in it, for the sweetness. Honestly, it smelled wonderful, and I could only describe the taste as luxurious. Such a simple meal... yet so organic, so natural, made with care.</p><p>“Thank you, V. This is really yummy,” I smiled at her between spoonfuls of the meal.</p><p>She looked up from her food and the corner of her lips lifted up as well, “Welcome,” she nodded, letting her blue-green gaze linger on my face before she looked away and began examining and my visible tattoos with interest. I didn't really mind, quite the contrary. She wasn't leering, there wasn't anything creepy in her gaze. She was just curious, she wanted to learn about me, and I wanted to learn about her. I was just wasn't sure how to approach the subject, considering there was definitely something going on there, I just couldn't put my finger on it, so for the time being, I decided to finish my lovely breakfast and make that a problem for future me.</p><p>It seemed like I was going to get a chance to learn more about V's routine, as she insisted on (with a bit of hand-tugging) me coming with to her rounds of checking the crab traps and foraging. It was a great opportunity to learn, and if our exchanges so far told me anything, maybe with enough practice we'd soon both be using full sentences to communicate. It was something I was certainly willing to put energy into, if it was going to yield good results.</p><p>We were close to the edge of the forest when I heard something that didn't fit the rest of the sounds around the island. It was loud, it was noisy... and it was above us. I looked up slowly, blinking, while V was busy extracting a few coconuts from a tree.</p><p>“What the fuck is that...” I whispered and moved closer to the beach, shielding my eyes from the sun. I couldn't believe it. It was a fucking AV of some sort... wait... it looked like a VTOL, now that I could get a better look at it. There was hope. Civilization! Something! We'd get rescued! What were the fucking chances?! I dropped my basket of berries and launched myself in the direction of the shore, waving my hands like crazy, screaming and making all kinds of inhuman noises. I didn't get far though. I felt a hand over my mouth and another around my abdomen, as V caught up with me incredibly fast and muffled me, dragging me back into the jungle with frightening ease.</p><p>“Hush,” she hissed into my ear. I could hear her panting and I could feel her heart pounding in panic against my back, “Not good people,” she warned. It would have been hot if it weren't for the fact I was trying to signal for help and she decided to thwart my efforts. V pulled me back even further, settling against the tree, keeping me restrained despite my attempts to break away and a few bites, waiting it all out. She just took the pain like it was nothing, the fucking weirdo. The VTOL was out of range for me to try and achieve anything, get any sort of attention, and that was when she finally released me.</p><p>“What the fuck, V?! Not good people?! How can you know?! This was our chance to get the fuck out of here!” I scrambled away and stood up, spouting my anger out. Why would she do such a thing? </p><p>V stood up and looked at me in confusion for a moment. She looked... hurt and kept her gaze away. Finally, after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, she picked up the basket, put the coconuts in and turned to walk back to the house, “Go look if want,” she grumbled over her shoulder and judging by her tempo, it didn't look like she was going to wait for my reply.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Facts and opinions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Judy is mad about V stopping her from trying to signal the VTOL and demands answers.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You can really tell I had some more time in the weekend to get creative...  This chapter gets emotional, I'll admit. Then again, emotions are my jam, so enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Wait! Wait... don't leave me here!” my budding survival instinct kicked in before my desire to have a discussion could butt in  front of it. At that point I was so shaky that I didn't know whether I could find my way back to V's house. I hastily picked up a few coconuts before catching up with her enough to see her back and follow her home, “V... I just... This is technology. It could help us get out of the island. I could go home!”</p><p>“Home is here,” V replied, glaring at me over her shoulder. That must have been insulting to here on a deep level, “Here is safe,” she added and shook her head, exhaling with a tired grunt.</p><p>“Listen, I know that things that fly in the sky might seem dangerous and not okay... but don't you think we should at least try?” I tried again. For some reason I was convinced that being reasonable with her and just trying to explain my point over and over was going to convince her. She was smarter than I had initially given her credit for, and I decided to challenge her intellectually on that front. </p><p>We had to start communicating like adults if we were going to do this long-term. And by long-term, I meant living together under one roof and helping each other survive. The low-key thirsting after each other was a factor too, but definitely not when a fucking VTOL flew over the island...</p><p>“No. No use,” V almost growled at me this time, there was something in her eyes that served as a warning on its own. I blinked, words got stuck in my throat. It worked on an instinctual level for some reason. In a very round-about manner, it reminded me of my abuela and her legendary temper.</p><p>That kind of a glare was usually the sign that I should stop whatever juvenile bullshit I was up to, because the fuse was at its very end. In that moment, it felt like I was fourteen again, and in the worst possible way at that. I kept following her in silence until we got back to the house and unloaded the fruit of our forage.</p><p>V was methodical in sorting everything and putting it in the right place. The silence was unbearable. We went from having cutesy moments and her checking out my tattoos, to this. I didn't like it at all and I was done waiting for her to settle down.</p><p>“V, we really have to figure this out...” I started but she grit her teeth and cut me off. She picked one of the coconuts up and threw it in rage, with force and precision past me, outside, where I heard it break against a tree in a way that made my bones hurt. All of them at once. I shielded my head and curled up against one of the walls.</p><p>“NO!” she said, “Bad people, bad place, stop tryin',” she shouted, then fell down to her knees, putting her hands on her temples, clearly struggling with all the emotions inside her at that very moment. I could see her tense up, it was as if her entire body was ready for battle in that moment, and throwing that coconut was not nearly enough to help her get rid of the energy. She looked so scary, as if she were about to turn into some kinda werewolf or something... I didn't want to be near that terrifying display of primal anger.</p><p>The worse part was that... that same anger didn't seem to care for my opinion very much. V stood up and moved towards me, that same steely determination in her bluish-green eyes. My entire world turned upside down, I found myself perceiving everything the wrong way round while my head occasionally bonked against the small of V's back. She still had her t-shirt from earlier, but that didn't make the situation much better. She simply picked me up, with ease that made my stomach sink, and stormed out of the house, moving...somewhere, I quickly lost my sense of direction and closed my eyes so as not to puke, “V... V, what the fuck are you doing?”</p><p>“Goin' on trip,” she replied with a grunt and lifted me for a moment to adjust her grip, holding me by the back of my knees.</p><p>“V, this is not okay, put me down right now, you fucking savage!” I tried to hit her blindly with my fists a few times as I flailed my legs but V simply ignored my efforts, like some kind of a zen punching bag. I tired myself out pretty quickly, while V soldiered on, tirelessly carrying me for what seemed like fifteen minutes... maybe more... maybe less, I wasn't sure. I still felt scared, and at that point I was cursing myself for trusting her. This was bad, this was going to end bad and she was probably going to end up eating me.</p><p>When she finally put me down and set me against a tree, I looked at her with a scowl, “Now what?” I hissed, wrinkling my nose. V looked confused and frowned, “You wanna see? We go on trip. Or no askin',” she held up her index finger, clear about her condition. Oh, so it wasn't a fit of cannibalistic rage, after all...</p><p>“Yes, of course I want to fucking see! I could walk on my two legs, you know, no need to carry me around like some piece of meat...” I wasn't impressed and I wasn't going to hide it or sugarcoat it for her.</p><p>“Secret,” V simply shrugged. She then sat down and let her fingers 'walk' on the ground towards my hand, giving me her best puppy eyes as if to assure me. She exhaled and licked her lips, and seeing that shift in her behavior, I couldn't help but allow her to take my hand, “Joodee Aflowers safe with V,” she said, with a softness that made me feel guilty for this entire situation. What if I pressed her too hard?</p><p>“Bad place scary. Joodee see self,” V added after a few more moments, looking at the sand as she held my hand, “Hate bad place,” I could see that the prospect of going wherever she was about to take me filled her with utter dread, that this was way out of her comfort zone. What could have been so bad to make her feel that way? Last time she flipped out that way was when the snake attacked me. And that wasn't uncalled for – it was danger. Could she mean a lair of predators? Were there other people on that island? My head finally stopped spinning enough for my thoughts to begin forming tentative hypotheses.</p><p>As I was getting my bearings on the ground and hoping I wasn't going to suffer from a migraine from V's complimentary caveman roller coaster, I swore to myself that if she did that ever again, I'd just start biting her. And then improvise. Not that my chances against that one-woman powerhouse were big, but I wasn't going to go down without a fight.</p><p>V disappeared between the trees for a moment, giving me a chance to look around. We were on a different part of the coast... And there was another island visible from our current location. It wasn't even that far, a raft with a decent paddle could probably get us there... I wondered what V intended to show me. I felt that the answer had better be good to warrant all this skittish behavior on her side. The secrecy, the paranoia, the zero to one hundred reactions... Something was definitely not okay here, and the more it went on, the more determined I felt to figure it the fuck out.</p><p>V returned, carrying something that looked like a door at first, at least in terms of size. On one side, it had drawer handles attacked to it in the corners, V showed me that we'd both need to hold it up. The other side was made from a reflective material, with some blue hues to it as well, something that'd easily reflect the sun, just like waves. All four sides were surrounded with a semi transparent, blueish plastic curtain, kind of like my grandparents had in their shower in their old apartment. I was utterly confused.</p><p>“Water no deep. We go see,” V instructed and held up the door above her head, waiting for me to move to the back handles before she adjusted her grip. And then I understood. It was a stealthy way to move through the shallows while... pretending to be a piece of floating plastic, so even if something flew overhead, we wouldn't get detected. </p><p>Damn, that was ingenious. Whoever came up with the idea and showed it to V must have been very self-conscious about not being seen... or being able to move unseen. And if she came up with it herself, well, she was a genius, too, and living proof that live just wasn't fair. Though I did feel a bit privileged that I could see all those clever ideas in use, designed and implemented with minimal resources, finding incredibly novel uses for materials that were literally someone else's trash. </p><p>The plastic curtains on all sides had holes in them, so the risk of us cooking in the tropical heat were minimized, and water kept us cool while we moved through the shallows, slowly but surely approaching the other island.</p><p>“This is really smart,” I said, nodding my approval at the contraption we were using. The piece of plastic wasn't that heavy, so there fortunately was very little risk of fainting and drowning. Besides... V wouldn't just let me there, right?</p><p>“I know. Dad idea,” she replied and looked over her shoulder carefully, “Still mad?” she squinted at me, as if to show me she'd know if I tried to lie.</p><p>“No... scared. Because of the way you threw that coconut and carried me. Could have hurt me, ya know,” I pointed out. Hopefully we weren't going to have another fight in the middle of the shallows.</p><p>“Never miss. Good aim,” V scoffed, “Was mad too. Walk it off good,” V grumbled and shook her head.</p><p>“Yeah, but maybe not with me on your shoulder like I'm some kind of your caveman wife, duh, you fucking gonk, I swear...” I blurted, then my eyes went wide at the use of the word. Fuck.</p><p>V looked over her shoulder, blinking at me. I could see confusion on her. Was she blushing? Could have just been the greenhouse micro-climate of our stealth-vehicle, but she looked sweaty and strained. I probably did as well...</p><p>“No you,” she settled and nodded, “Joodee gonk, not wife,” she added, just to be sure that I was getting properly insulted.</p><p>“You wish I was...” I quipped, then snorted, exhaling. Did we really move on to the stage of bitter, hurtful bites at each other already?</p><p>V let out a hum, as if she were considering something rather seriously, “Cute when mad,” she shrugged, “Maybe,” she replied, and I had no idea whether she was moving onto advanced sarcasm with me or being serious. And it was enough to throw me off-balance in the conversation. It turned out that I didn't need her parents to be alive to make things super awkward, but I was pretty sure they were watching us from heaven and laughing their ghostly asses off at that conversation.</p><p>I focused on keeping up the tempo and following the slight adjustments V made to her hold, as if to simulate a drifting motion, giving our cover a bit more of a dramatic flair while possibly fooling anything that may have been in the sky, even if it was a basic drone. I had almost forgotten about drones...</p><p>When we finally made it to the other island, I was ready to lie down and have a nap, but V didn't stop moving until we were in the cover of the trees. We put the cover against one of the trees and sat down. We were both pretty beat, I guessed, but V was much fitter than my sorry academic butt, so I was sure we weren't going to rest for that long before having to move further.</p><p>“Joodee okay?” V wondered, placing her hand on my shoulder and giving it a squeeze.</p><p>“Yeah... yeah... just... need a moment, phew, that was a workout,” I admitted. It was only at that moment when we sat next to each other that I noticed V's soaked t-shirt clinging to her body, emphasizing her abs and her breasts an an almost obscene manner, especially considering how hard her nipples were from being in the water for so long. I swallowed a lump in my throat and looked away.</p><p>My chest wrap did a slightly better job at obscuring the shape of my chest. I just wasn't sure whether that was a good thing. Maybe if I knew that she was looking as well, I'd have felt better. V got up and disappeared for a few moments again, without having the decency to inform me where she was going. She didn't beckon me to follow, so I simply assumed that she had an idea on where to go and what to do that didn't involve me having to help her. I moved to lie down on the ground and closed my eyes, granting my body a moment of much needed respite.</p><p>I must have fallen asleep, even if for just a moment, because the next thing I remembered was a gentle touch to the side of my cheek, and a hand sliding under my head to lift it.</p><p>“Drink,” V spoke, her tone soft, almost a whisper. I parted my lips and realized just how thirsty I had been as she held up an open coconut to my lips. It was the best drink on earth, even without alcohol in it to make it resemble Malibu rum... My eyes shot open and I saw V kneeling at my side and helping me drink, as if I were sick or injured... She could have just waited for me to sit up, but instead she decided to be all cute and disarming about instead. Her expression was serious, rather somber. I remembered that the original reason for this expedition, and the warm and fuzzy feeling in the pit of my stomach quickly faded.</p><p>This woman had the uncanny ability to invoke a lot of different emotions in me in one day. Sure, we were still in the process of getting used to one another, but I wasn't sure how long I could go on and remain sane if our relations were to be that volatile.</p><p>I sat up, “Thank you,” I nodded at V and busied myself with scooping out some of the flaky inside of the coconut for a quick snack, and my companion did the same with hers, after moving away from me but still remaining at an arm's length.</p><p>“No much time,” she warned and I took that as a sign to head out.</p><p>“Okay, let's go,” I said and put the coconut shell away. We were all friends on this here planet, mammal or not, and the leftovers of the Cocos nucifera I had the pleasure of drinking and snacking from could still provide quite a lot of nourishment to a few smaller creatures.</p><p>V led me through the jungle of the other island, and it seemed to me that she was familiar with it as well. She must have been, to an extent, to be aware of the 'bad place' she was going to show me, but it made me wonder just how much ground she could cover on her own and what other secrets she was aware of... perhaps there was someplace on this island or the other had housed some washed up hardware I could bring back to working order? A girl could dream.</p><p>One of the things that struck me about this island was the fact that it was much more quiet there. Deathly quiet. It made me uneasy; every step I took was filled with hesitation. I quickly began to understand why V had been so stubborn about things. But it was my own obstinate behavior that brought me here (and V's strong arms and shoulders... but getting all dreamy would have been a bad idea at that point) and I fully intended to own it up.</p><p>We were headed towards a clearing of sorts. From afar, it looked as if a giant foot had stomped on a piece of land and destroyed most of whatever had the misfortune of being underneath it before moving on. Nature had reclaimed the spot already, but it was clear the destruction was not a result of anything natural.</p><p>“Is this the bad place, V? Is this what you wanted to show me?” I asked, keeping my tone to a whisper. It was so eerily quiet around that spot... V nodded at me and gestured to move slowly and carefully. Upon closer inspection, I saw that what nature managed to wrestle back from this place was... a ruined building of sorts. The bits visible underneath were charred. I took my knife and knelt at the collapsed structure, poking one of the pieces of blackened pieces of frame and it dissolved into ash on the spot, making a few other ones nearby crumble as well. The sun had already set, but moonlight served as a natural beacon, like a floodlight illuminating a crime scene.</p><p>“Holy shit... V... what happened here?” I stood up and looked at my companion, confused.</p><p>“Fire. Bad people,” she replied and looked at the sky, squinting with suspicion.</p><p>“What is this place...?” I wondered, looking around. I circled the ruin, one of the former walls looked partly untouched, or at least not as charred and crumbly as the other ones. A hint of something that resembled a letter under the thick moss caught my attention, so I began to remove the green layer.</p><p>V sat down, cross-legged. She obviously didn't feel like joining me in the exploration of that place. I could hear her sniffle and noticed that she furtively wiped her eyes with the back of her palm, keeping her gaze to the ground, “Old home,” she said finally. I looked at her and frowned. Was the place we slept at... her parents' second iteration of the shelter? If so... if fire destroyed this one, how did it happen? I continued scraping off the moss.</p><p>Find.</p><p>Someone wrote on that wall made from a piece of plastic flotsam. And somehow, the wall was left unburned... I kept at my work with renewed vigor until a much more chilling message was revealed.</p><p>We will find you.</p><p>The letters had a dark red tint to it... and the smudges had something morbid to them, especially when I realized that there were human hand prints visible in some elements of the letters. Someone had painted this in blood. Possibly human blood. Was it the blood of one of V's parents? I'd rather it wasn't, but seeing the sentence and V's reaction to the place was putting unpleasant ideas in my head. What was even worse, the sentence was neatly underlined with what looked like a charred line, way too straight to be the work of a torch. A blow-torch, perhaps... Or a flame-thrower. I stopped my scraping and stepped away, putting my knife back into the sheath with shaky hands.</p><p>“Fuck...” I breathed out, audibly enough for V to pick it up.</p><p>“Now you see?” she asked, there was an edge to her tone, a certain kind of bitterness. This time I did not plan on fighting with her on it. I could only try to imagine what had occurred here... How much did she know? How much did she remember? Was she here when it happened? It would be cruel to ask, but the entire site told me enough. I swallowed audibly and rushed over to my companion.</p><p>“I see. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, V...” I reached out to place my hand on her shoulder, she shrugged it off, but not in an aggressive manner. It seemed that just being around that place simply sapped the will to live from her.</p><p>“Let's go back. We shouldn't be staying here,” I urged and she nodded, eager to start moving back to the shore. Fortunately, the low tide began some time before we god back and making our way back home quicker and much less taxing, even if the stealth cover looked a lot more conspicuous in the low tide, especially at that tempo. The cover of the night helped as well., so we managed to get back to 'our' island without any trouble. The trip back and forth and the discovery were exhausting, though, both emotionally as well as physically.</p><p>Neither of us expressed the slightest desire for dinner, we dried ourselves sat down at the table, quiet and somber. Without a word, V brewed us some tea. She didn't even ask if I wanted any, but somehow knew that a cup of a warm drink was what I needed. Who was I kidding, we spent most of the day treading through shallow waters, of course we needed something warm. I was too tired to think straight (whether I had the ability to was another thing whatsoever). I felt bad for pushing V so far out of her comfort zone. I felt bad for not believing her. I was on my high horse, thinking that the VTOL was some kind of a godsend,  a result my abuela's prayers, even though I hoped she still believed I was just on another research trip and didn't worry too much...</p><p>But V was  right. She wasn't scared of technology she didn't know about, skittish because of a big, noisy thing in the sky. Her parents ran from someone... or something. I wasn't sure whether it was the law, a corporation, or maybe the same pirates that attacked the Endurance but it was clearly a force that had access to technology, one to be reckoned with. Those guys didn't fuck around.</p><p>For a moment I wondered how V had managed to keep such a low profile in her current house. Then again, she used fire pits instead of open campfires, and didn't use any kind of technology that would produce too much smoke or an otherwise significant heat signature.</p><p>I took a sip from my cup and set it down on the table to walk to the bed and grab Ackie. V kept staring ahead, any attempt at conversation was met with single syllables or grunts, she clearly wasn't feeling very social with me. Perhaps her plushie friend could cheer her up. I placed him against her arm at first, then her shoulder, finally decided to be so bold as to make Ackie 'cuddle' against V's cheek while I made silly noises, animating him like a puppeteer.</p><p>“I think Ackie sees that you're sad... I think he wants to give you a cuddle,” I made an attempt at dragging V back to reality, giving her a tether of her own little world.</p><p>V slowly turned her gaze to Ackie and took him from me, hugging him close to her chest with one arm. With the other, she pulled me close around the small of my back and pressed her forehead against my abdomen. Oh, V... I reached up to slowly stroke her head, just let her weep for as long as she needed. It was the least I could do after forcing her to drag me to that place. </p><p>I could feel her tears on my skin and her nose occasionally rubbing against it as she shivered and sniffled, but I knew it was comfort she sought, and nothing else. She had gone back to a place that haunted her, just to stop me from being a brat, so it was really common fucking courtesy to just be there for her in return.</p><p>“It's okay... we're okay... we're home now, we're safe,” I cooed softly, trying my best to reassure her, even though I knew that a good cry would help her just as much.</p><p>“Stay here... don't go...” she pleaded between sniffles, “Bad people... don't go...”</p><p>“I'll stay here, V. With you. You're good people. We'll... We'll figure it out somehow. I promise. You'll see,” I could hear my own voice breaking. I wasn't strong like her, a hardened survivor, so when she was losing it, it would be a miracle if I kept it together.</p><p>“Okay...” my words seemed to be enough for her for the time being. She moved her head away from my abdomen and stood up, seeking my gaze. Her eyes looked red, it was clear the day took a lot out of her.</p><p>“Tired,” she stated and nudged me gently , “Sleep?” V took Ackie and made her comfortable on the bed. She still had her t-shirt on, as well as the wrap around her hips, clothes really were secondary for her, but at least this way she wasn't so damn distracting.</p><p>“Yeah... yeah...” I nodded and joined her, in my usual position, burritoed up in my sleeping bag and away from her, for the sake of decency. I half expected her to put her arm on my side like the night before, but minutes ticked away in my head and no movement came from her. I turned around and saw her facing away from me, the occasional shiver and sniffle giving away that she wasn't feeling great... I moved my hand from underneath the sleeping bag and placed it  on her shoulder at first, then on her side, finally around her waist as she almost immediately cuddled up against me, letting the little old me be her big spoon. Maybe at least that way I could make it up to her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. How do thoughts breathe underwater?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Judy sinks into an emotional dip as the realization about her new reality sinks in. V finds a way to cheer her up.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The adventure continues! Work kept me busy so getting this one done cost me a few more spoons than I had anticipated, but I'm glad how it turned out... and I hope that you, gentle readers, will enjoy it too!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>How do thoughts breathe underwater?</strong>
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  <span>When I woke up, I could feel V's fingertips idly tracing my right forearm which was still draped over her. In the course of the night we must have changed position a few times, or at least adjusted it slightly, but we were still cuddled up pretty close.</span>
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  <span>She couldn't see that I was awake, and I took the opportunity to just stay in the moment. V was propped up slightly. With the side of her head resting in the palm of her hand, her attention was divided between studying my forearm and turning to Ackie to mouth something unintelligible to the plushie, perhaps exchange ideas or maybe pretend to speak in some secret language they had.</span>
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  <span>From the looks of it, it was a pretty serious deliberation, so I didn't want to disturb them. Now that I was awake, not moving too much or giving away the fact that I was conscious posed quite a challenge. In fact, it came more naturally once I closed my eyes again and let my other senses explore.</span>
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  <span>V smelled of saltwater, which wasn't surprising considering our little expedition the day before. Being reminded of what I saw there made me frown. No... I didn't want to face that yet. I much preferred to think about how nice the aroma of the ocean clung to V's soft, smooth skin. Or how pleasant her somewhat callous, yet gentle fingertips felt against my forearm. The touches were light, almost like a feather. It was obvious she didn't want to wake me up, at that alone was incredibly adorable.</span>
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  <span>With my eyes closed, I tried to hone in what she was actually whispering about with Ackie. After a few moments of eavesdropping, I caught a few words that seemed completely random at first.</span>
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  <span>Underwater. Can. Easy.</span>
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  <span>I frowned, wondering what it had to do with anything, but quickly connected the dots as V brushed along my right forearm once again. It was one of my tattoos, a quote from an old song.</span>
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  <span>Underwater where thoughts can breathe easy.</span>
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  <span>In my grogginess I didn't realize what that meant at first, but the moment that extrapolation took place, I gasped, startling V and myself a bit as I suddenly sat up.</span>
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  <span>“You can read...?” I stared at my companion, wide-eyed as if I had just woken up from a nightmare.</span>
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  <span>“...Mornin', Joodee,” V smiled sheepishly, then glanced at my tattoo again and shrugged, “Sometimes...” that was a ridiculous answer.</span>
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  <span>“Not much to read around here, I suppose,” I hummed, then shook my head, “Sorry... that just surprised me.”</span>
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  <span>“V no gonk,” she frowned at me, clearly insulted at what I was suggesting, “Just... just... just gotta speak more,” she sighed and rubbed the back of her head. It was clear that her own limited vocabulary was getting on her nerves as well.</span>
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  <span>“That's what I was thinking, too. Maybe we should really focus on that the next few days? Lots of talking, maybe we can write on leaves with charcoal or something like that?” I offered and shrugged.</span>
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  <span>“Maybe,” V shrugged and watched me closely. Almost as if she wasn't sure of something. She was clearly gauging my mood, if I were to read anything from her cautious squint, “You okay?” she decided to ask. I adored her uninhibited bravery.</span>
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  <span>“Yes and no,” I sighed and swiveled on my butt to face away from her and set my feet on the floor or V's tropical house. Calling it ours would have been a bit too much, too far, too quickly. Besides, I didn't build it, and she probably did her share of helping.</span>
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  <span>“Splain... please,” V moved to sit next to me. She moved her harms up and stretched, letting out a purr as a few post-sleep cracks could be heard. I felt her palm on my knee. It was bare, since I slept in my bra and undie shorts, the night was kind of warm, even after all the treading through the shallows. I didn't shy away from the touch. It was comforting, and at that moment it didn't distract me at all. The weight of some entity being present on the island... or perhaps the small archipelago we were on. An entity with VTOLs and flamethrowers to say the least... it scared me.</span>
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  <span>“It's all kinda fucked up, V. I dunno what to think about it all,” I admitted, giving my bottom lip a good nibble as I tried to put my thoughts into words without reminding V too much about a place that obviously pulled her into a dark spot emotionally. Perhaps there was still time to salvage something from our conflict the previous day, “But I believe you. I just don't understand what's going on. And I don't know what to do.” I turned to look at her.</span>
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  <span>She straightened up and nodded, “Survive. Don't get caught,” she replied immediately, as if reciting a core tenet in life. Considering the circumstances, it was an excellent set of instructions. Just kinda vague and not really helping us find a practical solution out of the island.</span>
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  <span>“So that's it?” I gestured around the house, “That's going to be your entire life until you die? Break a leg one day and not get help on time?” I looked at V, the concern in my eyes made her smile ever so briefly.</span>
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  <span>“Not alone anymore,” she pointed out and gave my knee a gentle squeeze.</span>
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  <span>“I'm not that kind of a doctor, though. Marine biology is kinda different than our mammal bones,” I quipped, then waved dismissively. It was a terrible joke and I felt sort of bad.</span>
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  <span>“Bad leg... uhm... splints?” V replied. Her parents at least gave her the theoretical hints about how to deal with that. But it still didn't solve our predicament.</span>
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  <span>“Sure, splints. But a splint won't help you get out of the island,” I reasoned, keeping my tone leveled and polite. I didn't have the energy to argue with her. I didn't have the energy to think about the two of us facing some flamethrower-toting fucks. To be completely fair, the fact that I was fucking stuck in this sandbox was making me feel uncomfortably lifeless.</span>
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  <span>“Why leave? We got water, food, sun, home,” V argued. It was commendable how hard she was trying to comfort me. Ironically, the problem was that I wanted solutions, not assurances about the stuff I knew we had.</span>
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  <span>“If you leave the island, you'll be further away from the bad people. From the bad places around here,” if that wasn't going to convince her, I wasn't sure if anything possibly could. I could feel my shoulders slump.</span>
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  <span>“Mom and dad said home safe. The safest,” V admitted, “They super smart,” she added and nodded vigorously, “Made home, made Ackie, made V smart.”</span>
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  <span>I squinted at her, tilting my head to the side, “Who were your parents, V...?” just asking the question made me realize how little I really knew about them,</span>
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  <span>“Really, really smart people,” V replied, “Big brain. Not gonks.”</span>
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<p>
  <span>“Yeah, okay... but what did they do? For a living. Don't play around with me, V...” I wanted to know more and I fully intended on being stubborn about it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Survived. Made home. Got food,” she looked at me with a slight frown. I could tell she wasn't lying, she just didn't have a lot more to say in the matter, for some reason. They taught her so much, left her with a lot of knowledge and means to survive and do a superb job in that department. Why leave her ignorant in that department? V must have been satisfied with the answer she had given me and assumed that I was as well, because she gave my knee a gentle pat and suggested we move on with the day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The next few days blurred into one big blob of inertia. The realization that I was most likely going to die on that island sank into my consciousness like the wreck of RV Endurance to the very bottom of the ocean. Waking up, morning hygiene, breakfast, foraging, maintenance and preparation... It was a comfortable routine, but a stagnant one. With two hands, we could forage more, get more firewood, so even with double the mouths to feed, we had time and energy to spare, and that didn't help me </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> think about that entire situation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After seeing that burned down house, I started looking to the skies with a growing sense of unease. What if something or someone started sending drones? What if they saw our footprints around that burned house and decided to send around a snooping party? I could tell V noticed my shift in the mood, now that my initial optimism and the cheer of meeting her and making bold plans of going back to civilization was gone. It was clear that not knowing how to 'bring me back' from the pull of negativity was getting on her nerves, my companion obviously didn't like feeling helpless.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her attempts were absolutely adorable. Ackie would come sit on my shoulder or talk to me, making unintelligible sounds as he touched my cheek, much like he did when I tried to comfort V. She picked up on that immediately and tried it often. Her happy smiles faded the moment she'd notice that even though I was amused, the smile never quite reached my eyes, and I was still preoccupied with our situation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>We did talk quite a lot, though, so that was something of an improvement, if I were to try and find one. We talked about the food we gathered, about the creatures we found, about the colors and the weather. It was restricted to a certain palette of subjects at first, but as days went on, I found myself surprised by how quickly V was regaining her eloquence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of course, she'd pick up some patterns from me, since I was her source of language, but sometimes she'd catch me completely by surprise when she used a word such as 'alkaline' when we made soap together. The hints were there and I kept cataloging them with all due diligence I could muster, but some things just flew over my head, especially in moments of hopelessness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sleep was my little escape. It meant that the day was over, and maybe something amazing or unexpected might happen in the following one. Like, I dunno, a reality show crew jumping from behind the bath, waving their hands and shooting fingerguns at me, laughing their asses off at the amazing prank they had managed to pull on me. Sometimes I imagined Tom and Roxie joining the show host, showing me all their injuries and blood were just realistic make-up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrapping myself up in my sleeping bag and drifting off to sleep was my favorite part of the day. By extension, getting out of bed was a chore, a complete and utter one. In perspective, I was glad that V insisted on me getting up. Sometimes she'd physically carry me from the bed to the bathtub, threatening to throw me into it together with my sleeping bag, and that was the breaking point of me finally deciding to start the day. At that time, I had no clue, but her insistence on me keeping up the routine and moving my sorry gonk butt out of bed kinda saved my life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I wasn't sure how many days passed by like that before V decided to shake me back into action. And that time it wasn't just by carrying me to the tub, wrapped in the sleeping bag… It was just after breakfast, when we were still drinking our morning herbal brew.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, so… got an idea,” she looked at me, as if to tell me that participation wasn’t entirely optional.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mhm?” I cradled my cup with both hands, staring into the contents. I still felt groggy, despite the brisk morning wash.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wanna go swimmin’?” as the offer came, V shot me a smile, “I know a place.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go swimming? So some drone or AV can see us?” I asked, squinting in suspicion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s safe,” V replied, “Think you might like it a lot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I looked at her for a moment, confused. There was something about the thoughtfulness of her words that caught me by surprise. This wasn’t just about a supply run, survival, or our daily routine. It was certainly outside of all that. As if anticipating my question, V shrugged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have food. Enough. Maybe we find some there,” she reassured me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” I nodded, she immediately started perking up, “Yeah, I’d like that,” I added after I realised that my initial reply sounded a bit dry and not very enthused at all. To be fair, V’s reaction to my words was worth agreeing. She was positively beaming and tapped her fingers on the table, then quickly finished her herbal brew.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Great, get ready. We leave soon,” V announced and disappeared into the smaller room to gather up a few things.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I had to admit, that took me by surprise and I sure as hell didn’t want to be late. I put on my diving two-piece, the longsleeve and the leggings, before deciding to wait for V outside. She came out with a basket in one hand, some kind of a small, folded fabric was covering whatever was inside. I knew I didn’t have to ask, she wouldn’t have told me anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on,” V smiled at me and tentatively took me by the hand. I didn’t shy away from her touch, there was a certain comforting element to it. Besides, I trusted her to lead me safely through the forest, to whatever swimming spot she had found. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you go to that spot often?” I wondered, giving her hand a tentative squeeze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. Don’t feel like it alone,” V shrugged. Her ears perked up and she nodded, as if to confirm something to herself, “Getting closer now,” she whispered and nodded in the direction ahead of us.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I picked up a faint bubbling of water and raised my brows. Sure, we were surrounded by water, of the salty variety, but a stream meant not just a reliable source of fresh water, but also a possible lake or spring… which I should have thought of, considering that I noticed quite a steep peak towering over the island… well, a collection of islets we were in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The trees were beginning to thin a bit as we advanced, now I was almost sure that she was leading me to a lake or a pond of sorts. I smirked to myself, and for the first time in what seemed like ages I felt… giddy. Wasn’t every day that a pretty, still kinda wild girl led me somewhere for a mystery picnic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At least... that was my chaste assumption, I wouldn’t think it was a date by any stretch. V’s speech improved vastly, sure, but I was being an emotional mess, and if giving her a hint just to see it ignored or get outright rejected… No. Just no. It was still too early after my messy break-up with Maiko for me to try things. If it turned out that even there, even with me being the last woman on earth for V she wasn’t interested, I just wouldn’t be able to take it and live with my pride being hurt so much.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The lake was partly hidden by a cliff wall from one side, around fifty, maybe sixty feet in height, uh close to twenty meters in metric units, if I remembered correctly. Water was flowing from it, naturally eroding parts of it, signaling that the water must have originated from somewhere up the mountain. It cast a partial shadow on the surface, creating an interesting effect when some of the gentle ripples on the surface eagerly reflected sunlight, and the ones in the shadow remained mysterious… almost brooding. There was a bit of sandy ground, close to the water’s edge, ideal to sit on, or have a picnic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>V was right, this did cheer me up, even if we hadn’t gotten to the swimming part yet. The entire scene just promised coziness with a sense of intimacy to it. I realized that despite easy access to freshwater, this place would be an obvious choice for building a house, and would likely be scanned more often for any survivors.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>We stopped and V looked at me with curiosity, “So… whaddya think?” she nibbled on her bottom lip, impatient about my reaction.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow, it’s… it’s beautiful here. It looks so… untouched,” I gasped, looking around, taking in the surroundings. I could hear birds chirping, even over the gentle hum of the small waterfall… If the island itself was like paradise, this was just sheer heaven, “Amazing…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You go have a look, I’ll join soon,” V instructed me and put the basket on the ground, gesturing for me to move towards the lake instead of snooping around her basket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine… one thing,” V said and put her hand under the fabric to find one of the objects stowed in her basket. A moment later she offered me… a snorkel. It must have obviously washed up at some point, it was black and a bit weathered, but a quick inspection showed that it was also in one piece and without any pesky holes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow!” I exclaimed and grinned at V, “Thanks!” I told her about enjoying diving… she kept this treasure from me, maintaining her stone face well enough to not even hint at anything like it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now go. Underwater, where thoughts breathe easy,” she smiled and tentatively placed her hand on my shoulder before moving it to my head so she could brush her thumb against my forehead, “Go make your thoughts easy,” V said softly and I couldn’t help but smile at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t be too long. It’s more fun together,” I replied, shooting her a smirk, before I even had a chance to think about it. V raised her brow at me and glanced at my smile before looking up into my eyes again, “Okay… Won’t be long,” she replied and reached up to comb through her hair. Was she suddenly being nervous? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I caused that, and it was my exit cue. I took the snorkel and lifted it in a toast-like gesture, “Right, let’s see what’s down there,” I cleared my throat and made my way to the water. After dipping my toes in it, I realized it was pleasantly warm. I waded further until I was far enough to clean the snorkel before I became its next designated owner. I leapt forward and allowed the water to carry me while I had my first look below the surface. It was trickier without a mask, but the water was so clean and clear that it would almost be an impediment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The richness of life beneath. I could just cry at all the little creatures darting back and forth, snacking on algae, forming a harmonious system under the surface of water. I spotted a couple of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Osteochilus waandersii</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I was pretty sure there were some members of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Parosphromenus harveyi </span>
  </em>
  <span>present as well. I swam further and spotted a few gouramis and other Anabantoidei, a suborder commonly known as labyrinth fish. I’ve always admired their ability to adapt, as they were renowned for developing the ability to take oxygen not just from water, but also from the air…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I heard a muffled splash and glanced to the side to see V join me in the water. She smiled and waved before fearlessly moving deeper into the lake, exploring. Since she grew up on the island, swimming must have been like second nature to her. That, or she simply knew her limits well when it came to lung capacity.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>V beckoned me over, so I surfaced to get some air, then followed her. She led me to a rocky formation, a tunnel of sorts, with an air pocket and a small crawl space. It would be enough to put sleeping bags down for two people and sleep, if cuddled up like we usually ended up doing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>We climbed out to catch our breaths and rest for a moment, “Nice hidey-hole,” I joked, looking around, “Luxurious.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s sneaky. Found it myself. If something happens… Can hide here, wait it out,” V explained, “Uh… in case of emergency,” she added after taking a moment to remember the phrase.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Very good!” I praised, “Look at you, using the big girl words,” I teased, the quip came quickly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am a big girl…” she said with a frown, “Bigger than you,” V pointed out and eyed me up and down, smirking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow, okay, that was uncalled for…” I shook my head. It looked as if V wanted to say something more but decided against it. Judging from her grin, my companion seemed pretty satisfied with her response and moved back into the water, prompting me to follow right after.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I had to resurface for a bit and I kept to the shallow to be able to breathe freely. And V was right about this idea… Seeing all the beautiful, abundant marine life, I couldn’t help but feel more at ease. At least this was something I knew, something deeply familiar to me. Not a reality that completely disconnected me from my daily life. I could just stay at that lake for hours, imagine it’s some kind of an interactive oceanarium, and not an island cut off from the world. Mostly, at least.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keeping up with V underwater was challenging, she swam quickly and with ease, as if water was her element. I wouldn’t be lying if I said that it was a pleasure to watch her form flex and bend with the grace of an Olympic champion. Then again… maybe I was being a bit biased. She even circled me a few times, and I could swear that I caught her spending just a moment too long glancing at my backside. Were we performing some kind of a mating dance without even knowing it? Or was my perception of reality regressing into the most basic of instincts…? The more vain part of me wondered whether she was enjoying the view.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>V was busy darting around like a herring, so I decided to resurface and check what little surprise she had prepared on the shore. She unpacked everything in the shade of the trees, where we were a bit more hidden from any aerial surveillance. Smart. The basket was on a blanket, with two towels ready, one for each of us.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a bottle filled with what I guessed was some kind of juice, or cold tea sweetened with honey, a treat, perfect for a picnic like the one we were having. I guessed there were more snacks hiding in the basket so I started making my way towards it. I could always go back into the water later, after all…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh, V. She prepared all this just for me, so we could take a trip to the lake, do some diving… All that to make me feel better. It was thoughtful and adorable. I felt a pang of guilt for all the days I spent moping and being the worst companion in misery -ever-. There had to be a way I could make it up to her. I knew I would. There had to be something on this deserted paradise I could come up with to impress her and see her beam that cute smile of hers...I knelt down and unzipped my longsleeve partly to dry my hair and face. I was about to turn around and sit on the picnic blanket when I felt a strong grab of a hand around my mouth while the edge of a knife came into my peripheral.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t move, babe, and I won’t have to make you suffer long…” I heard a voice hiss in my ear. It definitely wasn’t v, even though it sounded like a woman, “I wonder how you’d squeal, would it be like every other little birdie I’ve found around here…?” something about the tone and delivery made my blood run cold and sent a very unpleasant shudder down my spine. Who the fuck was that? I had to get out of this. Acting on the first idea that came to my head I bit into the hand on my mouth and tried to elbow the attacker. It must have confused her because I managed to break free… But only for a second.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I turned around to see a woman with obvious optical implants. She no longer had eyeballs, just two red orbs, drilling into my soul as if I were standing face to face with some kind of demon. She grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me forward, I felt a small, yet sharp pang against my left eyebrow, quickly followed by a gush of warmth. My vision swam for a moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not a doll… you’re like the rest of the squealers!” the woman seemed delighted at this discovery, but in a way that made me absolutely terrified. She was about to take another swing at me with the knife when the furious form of V pushed her off her feet in a powerful tackle. I was free and I crawled back away, terrified. I could feel coppery warmth on my face and I touched my face to see crimson thinned by the water I hadn’t yet dried from my face. But I could still see… the cut must have been minimal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everything seemed to be in slow motion. V seemed to have the upper hand while wrestling the woman-demon. My fearless companion raised her arm to try and stab the attacker with her wrist blade, but the psycho took the opportunity and kicked her, leaping on top of her. The woman’s clothes looked worn and destroyed, but fitting in a corpo lobby more than on this island… Was she a castaway…? Was she a part of whoever torched V’s old house…?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Two oddly angled sets of knives sprouted from her forearms, making her look like a hybrid between an insect and a human, even more monstrous in that form. I could tell they were prototypes for something called ‘mantis blades’, and some versions of them were making all the gangoons in the city who loved fresh black market gadgets cream their pants. Not to mention the police who had to put down all those freaks… It looked terrifying. That psycho was going to kill V, and then kill me. She straddled my companion and raised her arms triumphantly to the sky, as if offering V as some kind of a sacrifice to the deity of all cyberpsychos. There was no way she was just insane from being on the island. Chick had way too much chrome.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>V was on the ground, shielding herself from the blow. I started crawling towards her, I still had my knife on me, and it was time to use it. I wasn’t just going to let that crazy woman kill her. It would have to be over my extremely likely dead body, but I wasn’t going to give up on my V. I had no time to ponder on that thought, especially when I heard a shot ring out, one loud enough to startle all the birds in the area. Fuck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I shielded my face on instinct and I couldn’t see exactly what happened, but when I opened my eyes again, the woman was on the ground, unmoving as V pushed her off herself. My companion had a gash on her arm but nothing more, thankfully.  I got to her and we both heard a groan of pain coming from someone… the person who shot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man was aiming his gun at the lifeless body of the psycho. He was panting and holding his hand against a red stain on his white shirt. His dark hair, with silver streaks on the sides, was tied into a bun, and his facial hair and structure reminded me of a samurai for some reason.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Kusoama…</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he spat on the ground and glared at the woman, then moved his stare to us, but before he could say anything else, he groaned in pain again and fell face first into the sand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Fireworks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>V and Judy have managed to narrowly avoid a lot of trouble when a crazy woman attacked them, ruining their lakeside picnic. A mysterious man saved them, but he's unconscious and can't answer any questions. Our two heroines take some time to cool down and recover. They learn a very important lesson about why all things in storage should be labeled but the mistake brings on some unexpected developments...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Phew! That took a bit of time, but it's an update just in time, and in a bit of a theme of Valentine's Day, I hope!</p><p>Big thanks to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/centauri2002/pseuds/centauri2002">centauri2002</a>, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/T_Tornado/pseuds/T_Tornado">T_Tornado</a>, and <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/corchen/pseuds/Hexpresso">Hexpresso</a> for helping me get over my doubts about this one and suggesting how to unstuck myself in the difficult sections.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>V dropped the unconscious man on the spare bed that managed to drag from the storage room and set it on the floor, across from the one we shared. She turned to me and wiped my cheek with her thumb, leaning in to check on my injured brow. I could feel her warm breath against my forehead when she exhaled with audible relief, “It’s not bad,” she decided, “And this guy?” she turned to our mysterious saviour.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The quick assessment of my wound made me feel oddly reassured. I trusted V, and had no reason to worry. Of course, it stung like hell and my face was probably a mess, but I was alive, and in that moment, it was all that mattered. It also felt hilarious for some reason. Maybe it was just my reaction to narrowly avoiding death.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t look good,” I hummed and wrinkled my nose at the crimson pool staining the man’s shirt around his abdomen, “What about your arm?” the gash on her arm looked nasty, but V didn’t seem like it bothered her too much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay,” she dismissed and moved to tear the man’s shirt open. The psycho must have gotten him with one of the blades or something, it looked nasty, but I could still see his chest move up and down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t think he’ll make it,” V sighed, frowning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He saved us. We can’t just let him die!” I argued and moved to look through my first aid supplies from the salvaged emergency pack. I had a MaxDoc there. I kept it for an emergency, something that would really need modern technology. And here we had a guy who looked like he was a corpo soldier, with a nasty abdominal wound. Would he even tell us anything? Was he here for V?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I could see my companion struggling with it as well. She didn’t know what to do with the guy, clearly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pale. Weak. Lost a lot of blood,” she told me, shaking her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, let’s hope this works, then,” I muttered and stabbed him with the MaxDoc, hoping that whatever saltwater was in there wouldn’t tilt the scale enough to actually kill the poor choom instead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>V let out a sound that I could only describe as some scared yelp. I guessed she wasn’t a fan of needles. I watched the blood around the wound coagulate, it closed much quicker than it would have naturally. The man still looked as if he were at the very edge of his life, “Let’s hope,” V repeated and handed me the unconscious man’s gun, “Be careful. I need to go back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?! Where? Don’t leave me here with him,” I pointed to the man with the gun, V quickly grabbed me by the wrist and directed the gun away from any living being. Has someone actually trained her how to use them?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The body. Gotta check it,” V explained, “He’s weak. Shouldn’t wake,” she added after a moment. I sat on our bed, placing the gun beside me. V glanced at me and moved into the kitchen to dip one of the towels into the pitcher of water and come back to me, kneeling at my side. She proceeded to gently clean my face, paying close attention to the state of my wound. It didn’t even sting that much when she did it…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Won’t be long. I promise,” she said quietly, then moved to ever so gently put her forehead against mine. The gesture felt beyond intimate, and I felt dizzy just from feeling her get so close to me. I couldn’t deny that it was certainly convincing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… fine. Go and be back quickly,” I caved and got comfortable on the bed while keeping the pistol close. Not like the nearly-dead-guy was going to wake up anytime soon… and I was suddenly feeling extremely drowsy. Adrenaline probably started to die down in my system and my body reminded me about its limits.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t sleep till I’m back,” V warned and reached out to shake my shoulder gently, “Joodee, stay awake,” she frowned at me.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I’m so tired, V… I almost died, for fuck’s sake,” I sighed, then sat up. She tilted her head to the side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know. Scared me,” she admitted, then quickly leaned in to kiss me on the cheek before she quite literally ran out of the house before I could respond or say anything. At least I was completely awake and left to ponder why the hell she’d do that. If it was to keep me wondering, it was devious and unfair. But her words… She was scared about losing me. That just made me feel almost uncomfortably mushy. Today was definitely too many emotions at once.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And here I was, alone with a potentially another dead guy. Our uncanny saviour. From the looks of it, his wound started bleeding and the MaxDoc had done its magic. I sighed and got some water to clean the wound, along with V’s aloe vera solution that we used for minor grazes and such. I wasn’t that kind of doctor, but I had a basic idea about bedside manner and first aid to not let the guy get closer to an untimely death than he should.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was something… noble about his face. He looked like a sleeping warrior, even while resting, he somehow looked alert and ready to go into battle. It made me a bit afraid, to be fair, because despite his injury, it almost made him seem like he’d spring back to action the moment his eyes opened. The fact that he had some corpo-grade chrome on him didn’t really help me feel any safer around him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His breathing was raspy and a bit weak, so I trusted my gut and cleaned his closed wound instead. It gave me something constructive to do instead of just sitting there and trying to keep myself awake. Sure, I was at a close distance to him, so if he decided to turn into a baddie, I’d probably find myself in big trouble, but the way I saw it, the probability of that happening was really low. Tending to his wounds did make me think back on the attack, though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I didn’t see or hear any of them when I came out of the water, they must have come from a completely different direction. Why did the psycho attack us? I guess looking for rhyme or reason there was a waste of time, the woman did not act like she was even remotely sane.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I had to admit, I was quite busy trying to figure out V’s plans for our little picnic, so I wasn’t really paying attention. The woman managed to injure me before V tackled her and began wrestling with her. Fuck, I was so scared… I thought that would be the end of us, especially when her freaky arm-blades came out. V was definitely putting up a good fight, though. Better than I would have, for sure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then the shot came, from a different direction than we came, for sure, deeper within the island. The man had been wounded before he shot her… So either he was chasing her after an initial fight, or she ambushed him the way she did me, but he decided to finish that nasty business. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>How did they even end up there? To be completely fair, the man’s clothing and general appearance didn’t make it seem like he was stranded for a long time. Maybe a day, or two. And likely not shipwrecked either. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aside from the stain on his shirt and his hair looking a bit disheveled, he just looked… too clean. That alone made me suspicious. From what I could recall, the woman didn’t look like that. She must have been on the island for longer. Then again, considering her behavior… maybe she just didn’t care.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe once V was back, we could get a better look at that psycho. At some point. Maybe not that day. I still felt tired and vulnerable from the incident. I decided to make myself some tea. It wouldn’t get cold that quickly in the island’s warm climate, so I made a cup for V as well. The unconscious guy didn’t seem like he needed anything to drink, and we didn’t exactly have an IV drip handy to keep his body nourished on a basic level.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I looked at the two cups of herbal tea and sat down, positioning myself in a way that let me rest one hand on the kitchen table and occasionally sip from my mug, while my other hand rested on the gun while I kept my gaze on the unconscious man.  I thought that I should probably name him somehow, but at the same time, I hoped he’d wake at some point to introduce himself properly. I glanced at the other mug and my thoughts drifted towards V.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was she going to try something after that swim? Did she have a romantic picnic planned? Was she really into me, or was I just reading way too much into her being happy to have another human being around? It was probably just that. Me being a relatively reliable companion. Temperamental, sure, but hey, at least I kept things interesting. Emotions were high after the fight, we made it out of there alive, and that’s probably why she was being a bit touchy feely. Not much more there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With that burning question settled, I felt relieved. I could stop worrying and wondering whether V could possibly be into me or not. We shared the bed cause we were used to it, and unfortunately, at the moment there was also this guy who took the other one, so it wasn’t like we really had another option. I wasn’t making excuses. I was rationalizing. And now I could just enjoy my tea and listen to the sounds of the island in peace, one of them being our guest’s hoarse, yet continuous breathing. Maybe he’d make it after all?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When V returned, I could tell by the loud thud of a body she dropped outside. I could hear palm leaves rustling, she was probably covering it, and for good reason. The psycho didn’t leave this world in a manner that was pleasant or pretty. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>V’s quick reaction and the decision to immediately head back was incredibly smart, as I finally managed to retrace her thought process. A drone or an AV could easily spot the body on the sandy edge of the lake, and that would prompt someone or something to investigate. Who knew, perhaps the psycho was already here because of our little excursion to V’s old home…?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she entered the house, I could see she had the psycho’s knife strapped to her hip. A trophy perhaps, or another safety measure, but I preferred it on V than in the hands of a crazed homicidal lady, “You okay?” was her first question before she even glanced at the guy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… And he’s still alive. You?” I looked at the gash on her arm and noticed she managed to wrap some kind of a leaf around it. She knew best what worked around here, after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>V leaned in and sniffed around my eyebrow, frowning briefly, “Hurts much?” she wondered, ignoring my question for the time being. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kinda stings…” at first I decided to be brave, “Yeah, it hurts. I hurt all over. I ran like hell, I almost died, I’m tired and I’m not okay,” I shook my head, letting out a big sigh, “ But I can still see, so yeah. Got lucky there,” I let out a nervous chuckle. Would I laugh about narrowly avoiding a potentially deadly injury until the end of my life? “I want to take a look at your hand later, too. We should clean the wounds, make sure it doesn’t get infected or anything…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got something,” V assured me and moved to the storage, returning with a jar of some substance, unmarked. I remembered it vaguely, it was put next to the aloe vera in the storage for helpful ointments and what nots.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I made us tea,” I said softly, gesturing to the mug on the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>V smiled at me and nodded, “Thank you. Very nice of you,” she added and sat down at the table, keeping her eyes on our guest between sips. She opened the jar and dipped a clean towel in it, then reached out to try and touch my brow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, whoah, what’s that?” I asked. I couldn’t smell or identify anything familiar about the substance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For the pain, V explained, “Heals better, too,” she assured.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… but only if you use it on your hand as well,” I made my condition clear and she agreed. She removed the makeshift leaf-bandage from her arm and dipped the towel along the gash. It wasn’t bleeding. Frankly, it looked much better than I imagined it would have. We were both incredibly lucky in the course of that confrontation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should eat something… probably,” I hummed after I finished putting a cloth bandage around V’s forearm, now that we were both at home, and the situation was calming down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Health first,” V proclaimed and cupped my cheek with one hand, to gently dip the towel lightly soaked in the painkiller against the cut on my left brow. It stung at first, I hissed and tensed up, but V’s touch was gentle and considerate, she really couldn’t do anything about how the substance reacted with my fresh injury.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There… should feel better soon,” V smiled at me and I couldn’t help but reciprocate at once.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>V closed the jar carefully and put the towel to the side of the table, in case it was needed later, or so I assumed. I stood up and decided to prepare us some oats with bananas and mashed coconut, a decent but modest portion for each of us, just right to not feel hungry but to not use too many resources either.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>We ate in silence, as was the usual course of action. V always seemed to focus on the meal, appreciate it properly, instead of letting a conversation or something else distract her. I’ve learned to appreciate her attitude, especially given how many times I’ve forgotten what I’ve eaten or what it tasted like when I was busy with a screen of sorts or just trying to do a few things at once. Besides, eating consciously like that, for some reason it made the food feel like there was more to it, like it was more filling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When we were done, we went back to cradling cups of the herbal tea. It had cooled considerably, making it comfortable to drink.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really glad you’re safe, Joodee Aflowers,” hearing V call me that had grown on me, I couldn’t possibly deny it. At some point I stopped making a conscious effort to correct her and simply enjoyed the way she enunciated it. It was hella cute, if I were to be completely honest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m really glad you’re safe too, V. That looked scary. I thought we were gonna die,” I sighed, raising both brows, then frowned. The pain was becoming more numb and not feeling the sting above my eye felt relieving.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not gonna let you die,” V nodded and looked at me. There was a certain conviction in her words… it made me feel warm on the inside. I smiled sheepishly at her, then looked into my mug and the leaves idly swirling inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was something odd about those leaves. They were the most vibrant, wonderful shade of yellow-purple I’ve ever seen. I blinked a few times and looked up, then back at the  leaves. The mandala they were beginning to form smelled as if it held the secrets of the universe, to be shared when touched.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took me a moment to gather up the courage to look up at V. And when I did, I realized her eyes were so incredibly vibrant, too. They were glowing in the night, as if she were an owl… or a lynx… or an octopus with glow sticks for eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>V was looking at me with a dumbfounded expression, glancing between her mug and me, “Tea sings weird,” she stated, her voice sounded calm, but echoed with thousands of angelic trumpets in my ears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>My companion stood up on shaky legs and took a good look at the jar with the alleged painkiller. I mean it was a good painkiller. It was a balm for my tired soul, a hymn for my aching body. I was one with the forest, the stars above were my sisters and I wished to see them. V moved to the storage to put it back, I could hear her hum as she rearranged a few jars in there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You took something from here?” her head poked out from the side room, she was squinting at me. Even from that angle, I could see the mystical glow of her eyes. Her partially braided hair made her look like a hunter in the night, I was suddenly completely convinced that no one could ever best her in combat or tracking. Not with those eyes of hers… Her question registered with me with an almost uncomfortable echo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uuuh… Aloe vera to clean the guy’s wound, yeah,” I replied and looked at our guest. There were red, white, and black sparks dancing around him, as if thousands of tiny spirits were surrounding him, joined in prayer by their tiny hands. I put my finger to my lips to show V that she should be quiet and stop interrupting the healing ritual.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh oh… Wrong jar… Frog jar,” she said and stumbled out of the side room, almost bumping into me. The house was becoming kind of small, so I took V by the hand and led her outside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her hand felt warm in mine, and it was as if we floated an inch or two above the ground instead of walking. I still longed to see my sisters, the stars, and in a few swift steps, we found ourselves outside, moving towards the beach, “Look at it… look at everything, V…” I gasped, the scent of the universe filled my nostrils and the heartbeats of the stars blinking down at me pulsated in my veins, as if we shared hearts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I felt so small. The trees around us looked like blades of grass, tall and majestic, swaying in the eternal rhythm of seasons, in all of their colours, all the colours of the rainbow and beyond. It could taste every single colour and beyond. I understood how colours were our friends, our guides, our forefathers and our heirs in the endless expression of many realities.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>V wrapped her arms around me from behind and hid her face in the crook of my neck, “Thought I lost you… Was so scared,” she murmured against my skin and I felt like it was the fire of creation itself whispering close to my ear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m here, V… I’m here, don’t worry,” I placed my hands on her arms, mindful of the injured one. I couldn’t quite tell where my end began and hers ended, she must have been warm enough for us to meld together somehow… but it wasn’t burning, which was weird, but kind of nice at the same time. I chuckled and kept my arm on hers, as we were now conjoined. I giggled even harder when I effortlessly moved my hand up to try and find her cheek. It was warm as well, and a bit wet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gonna keep you safe, promise,” V said again and pressed her nose against my hair. She was sniffling, almost weeping. Why was she doing that? The night was beautiful, and so was V… it was no time to cry, it was time to dance, to rejoice, to celebrate!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, V…” her embrace was tight, but she loosened it the moment I began to turn around to face her. I placed my hands on her cheeks and wiped the tears from her skin. I could feel waves of sorrow cross through me with every droplet that I touched… so I quickly wiped them on myself to get rid of this suffocating sea of sadness that was trying to drown me through her, “I’m here, I’m fine. You saved me. You were incredibly brave and very strong and…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was the wrong painkiller…” she said to me, “You are spinning funny,” V chuckled and tilted her head to the side at me, “Joodee goes wheeee!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She may have been onto something. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>We were almost at the beach, but going there, even at night, would leave us in the open view of drones and what not. I took V’s hand again and led her to sit down on a bit of sandy ground. Once she was seated, I joined her, leaning against her with my back, making full use of the height difference between us. She was comfortable with cuddling up to me from behind just moments before, so it seemed like the natural thing to do. Besides, I wanted to talk to her about the stars very much. I felt compelled to do so. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sky was incredibly bright and vibrant. I could feel myself breathe in the universe with every inhale. There was knowledge and understanding in the air. Nothing to fear and nothing to doubt. V’s gentle breath tickled my neck, her nose poked my ear and hair a few times. She was being cuddly and affectionate, and that just made me feel happy and whole even more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt right and natural to just sit together, cuddled up and marveling at the beauty of the world like that. I felt light and bereft of my worries, I still had this nagging sensation I was floating, perhaps in zero g, but not quite. I was very giggly for sure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>We took turns pointing out constellations to each other. I kept seeing, out of all things, stars forming astral cars, moving in orderly lines across the sky, like two-dimensional cartoonish representations of vehicles drawn by children. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>V showed me another constellation and claimed it had to be the big pineapple. It had an oval shape to it and a little “funny haircut” at the top as she put it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>I then saw one that looked like a bunch of bananas.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pointed to one that looked exactly like a crab with pincers up. Wasn’t that actually a constellation?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then we found a fish.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was an octopus, too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And another one was a snake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It looked like it was moving, so I found myself slinking back into V’s embrace. She felt warm and safe, and her hands slowly traced my arms, barely touching, brushing along the exposed skin on my forearms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>We watched all the creatures dance together in harmony, blending together into an explosion of colors, a warm and wonderful display of rainbow fireworks against the night sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I could feel my heart beat like a drum, and V’s heart in cosmic sync with mine, beating against my back as she held me. I wanted to see her face again, to feel her eyes on me, touch her cheeks and feel their warmth. I turned around to face her, beaming a wide smile at my companion. Behind her, I could only see the dark purples and mysterious greens of the forest… but I didn’t really need to look past her, so I focused on her face. Well, tried my best to do so.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything’s so beautiful, V… the stars, the sky, the forest, the you, the me, the us-verse. We are an us-verse, V, I feel it,” I had to share my revelation with her. There was no way I could keep it to myself, not when the ideal truth of eternal geometry in palm tree leaves was filling the peripherals of my perception. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Amazing…” V looked around slowly, her eyes were wide and they still had this glow to them, both unsettling  as well as alluring. I could stare into those eyes for the rest of eternity. It was as if their glow had a rhythm to it, and that rhythm was the same as the beat of my heart. Her eyes spoke to my soul on a level I had never experienced before. And then her eyes disappeared, because she closed them and leaned in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re beautiful,” I could hear her murmur against my ear,  the vibration behind it sending shivers down my spine. She could purr into my ear all night, every night like that and it wouldn't be nearly enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fire, I was on fire! I felt V nuzzle against my neck, my ear, my hair. She was still sitting, I was kneeling in front of her, so we could keep our gazes on the same level since she was taller than me. I wrapped my arms around her and before I knew it, I was sitting in her lap, pressed against her with all my might while her hands roamed on my back, holding me in a protective embrace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I never felt so safe and so needed in my entire life. I didn’t want this to end, all those colours and sensations that were filling me and connecting us in a manner that was way beyond any logical means of explanation. The nuzzling touches of V’s nose against my skin started to feel differently as her lips joined the fray, tasting my skin, so generously blessed by the salty seabreeze. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The touch made me feel like we were beginning to melt into each other. It was perfect, it was gentle and curious, seeking and exploring, it was everything I’ve ever wanted in feeling her kiss my neck. I found myself reciprocating in the way V did. My nose rubbed against her hair, ear, cheek, eager to explore her scent, following some kind of a timeless instinct of two souls, using their bodies as conduits to establish a sacred connection. We must have looked like two clumsy puppies, if anyone was there to see us, save for the us-verse, our ever present witness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>We kept nuzzling against each other’s skin, becoming more and more impatient with every moment. I felt the gentle touch of V’s lips on my cheek a few times, a brush on my earlobe, a chaste kiss on my forehead. Each of them light, tentative, but  filled with warmth and pure affection that resounded in my very core.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>V pulled away for a moment, I felt her forehead against mine and her warm breath on my skin. In perspective, we were tripping extremely hard. But we were on that trip together, snuggled and clumsily expressing affection. V cupped my cheek and I could feel her thumb slowly stroke along my bottom lip. If I were on fire before, as I said, this simple gesture made  me turn into a very definition of the element. She looked up at me, without a single word spoken,  but I somehow sensed what was on her mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Being at the height of eloquence, I could only let out a tiny whimper in response, followed by a nod of agreement. I wanted nothing more than her lips on mine and she leaned in with a sharp inhale, granting that request immediately.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her kisses started out eager, even if a bit clumsy, with soft, perfect lips brushing against mine. We weren’t in a hurry, floating somewhere beyond time and space, pressed together with lips and bodies locked now that we’ve agreed it was time to break that boundary and… admit to certain things.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t just our lips that were joined. Our souls, our very essences were finally released from their respective prisons of uncertainty and allowed to embrace. V was impatient, I could feel it in the growing boldness of her kisses, teetering on the side of rough. She bit my lip a few times in the process of learning and exploring, but I would be the last to complain about that. It only served to stoke the beautiful, radiant fire raging within me.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>We stoked it together, kept it alive for what seemed like eternities upon eternities, swaying together in a make-out session for the ages, moving between hungry and affectionate, sweet and sloppy, bold and full of yearning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And while our minds were willing, the bodies did not follow, especially considering our near-death experience, and the unexpected side effects of the ‘painkiller’. I collapsed on top of V, sprawled all over her in a needy cuddle, with warm sand beneath us and the sound of waves lulling us to sleep, filled with more dreams and colours, dancing and weaving together before the reality of what had occurred had to catch up, a few inevitable hours later.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Back to earth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>V and Joodee Aflowers deal with having to go back to reality after their trip courtesy of the Frog Jar ™</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey everyone! If you still remember me, here's another chapter of saVage. Sorry I took so long. I'm struggling with a depressive episode and writing does not come easy, but I'm doing what I can to not let the black swamp of despair claim me. Knowing that there might be people out there looking forward to a new chapter keeps me going. Thanks all, and sorry again.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The sound of the waves crashing on the shore swayed me back into consciousness. I could recall fireworks in the sky, vibrant and colorful. They were too loud, their bang sounding more like an explosion with every further second. Gunshots and cries of pain… I was on the ship again, running for my life, then on the raft. Tom and Roxie were dead, the Endurance was sinking! I had to do something. Fear grew from my heart and began to spread throughout my body, paralyzing me. I knew I had to do something before it was too late.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I sat up, looking around in panic, felt my heart lurching into my throat. My mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton and my hair was a sand-filled mess. Next to me, a small mound of leaves, shaped like a human being, launched into a coughing fit. At first I jumped in place, startled, then I saw a very confused V claw her way out from underneath the leaves. The vague memory of us deciding to “weave a quick blanket” drifted back into my consciousness. We certainly tried our best, considering the state we were in. I was under the impression that my mind was already clean and my body managed to process whatever was in the infamous Frog Jar.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As for V? I wasn’t so sure about her trip being over. She stared at me with wide eyes; we sat there together in silence, pretending we were listening to the waves.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi!” V beamed a wide smile as if I had just appeared in her view at that moment. It didn’t quite matter. She had been staring at me for what seemed like an hour. Maybe her vision managed to focus enough.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mornin’.” I waved at her and sighed, feeling heavy and unmotivated to move. “You feeling okay?” The concern in my voice made her frown, she began scanning herself, visibly self-conscious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Think so? Something wrong?” she asked, to which I shook my head. After a moment of silence and fidgeting with a little branch she found, V spoke again. “You were really pretty at night,” she said sheepishly, averting her gaze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She remembered, and so did I. Well, to be fair, I was at the stage where images, words, and flashes were crawling towards one another slowly, in a valiant attempt to eventually form an image. The fact that they were taking their sweet fucking time was incredibly annoying to my groggy self.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What, only last night?” I quipped and saw panic widen V’s eyes again as a result. It had already cost her a lot to say that and I must have sounded dismissive enough to discourage her. She grumbled something and frowned, moving to stand up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Should see the guest,” she suggested, holding out her hand to me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I took up her offer with a sigh. My hand, as if acting on its own initiative, moved to V’s shoulder. Felt good there. Right and familiar. I slowly looked up at her and the intensity of her stare surprised me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not just last night,” she said and gently took the hand from my shoulder, giving my knuckles a gentle, tentative nuzzle, “Always are.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh shit… The realization hit me harder than utter rejection in peer review. We had spent the better portion of our nocturnal trip making out like two unhinged teens. Holy fucksticks it was really good. Felt amazing, the better the further we got into it - something I didn’t think was possible. V was a quick learner in that respect.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But did we… No, probably not. I still had my clothes on. So did V (well, her usual attire). I didn’t think I would have been able to get dressed again while tripping, and I realized we could have just gotten distracted by how nice the kissing was to go any further. It was for the best. Crossing that boundary while high seemed bad enough. Was it though? Or was it just a poke we both needed?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And now she was giving me that damn smile again. I couldn’t help but reciprocate and give her at least a small bit of reassurance while I tried to make sense of it in my head, “You were pretty, too. Not just last night,” I nodded and gave her a quick, affectionate hug. I really wanted one, but at the same time, I had to stop looking into her eyes, lest I was going to forget the world again. There was, of course, a part of me that wouldn’t say no to another make out session. That would not be wise, considering we left the injured man completely unattended.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re right, let’s go check on our guest,” I reminded and led her by the hand, back to our house.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As we walked, I began to see just how much we fucked up with the trip. I didn’t have the gun on me. Neither did V. If the guy was up and he armed himself… Our best case scenario was him still being unconscious. V must have felt how I stress-squeezed her hand, because she gave me a squeeze back and said, “Gonna be okay,” in a soft tone. Almost sounded like something she picked up from a parent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When we got to the house, I heard a pained groan, just as we reached the stairs. He was awake. I looked at V and she nodded, hunching down to take the lead. I tentatively followed and saw our guest on the floor, on his abdomen, trying to crawl. It looked like an advanced exercise in masochism, especially considering where his wound was. The gun was safely on the table, way out of his reach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Nani desu-ka?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he murmured, looking over his shoulder. It took a lot of his energy just to prop himself up to be able to do that. Sweat covered his forehead and dripped down his face, and his expression was one of complete and utter confusion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I guessed it had something to do with facing a topless, bronze-skinned warrior, and a Latina castaway with two tone hair and lots of tattoos.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, you should really stop movin’,” I crossed my arms on my chest, unsure how to proceed with the conversation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where...am I…?” he switched to heavily accented English, still propped up;I could see that his arms were shaking with the effort, “Who are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Both are good questions, but first let’s get you back onto the bed,” I hummed and V nodded at me, stepping over the man to take him by the shoulders while I handled the legs. We turned him onto his back and then lifted him onto the spare bed. He exhaled with relief and his hand immediately moved to his abdomen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” he inclined his head, his voice croaky.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Suppose we should thank you first. For saving us from that… well, whoever she was,” I gestured vaguely. He must have been thirsty, so I went to the kitchen to get him a cup of water.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You are in our home,” V informed him, “I’m V.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I sat on the bed next to him and helped him drink. At first he gave me a look of distrust, but I imagine he must have been pretty parched, because he didn’t hold on to that suspicion for longer than a few seconds.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I’m Judy Alvarez, if that helps. My expedition ship was destroyed by pirates. I found V here and she helped me,” I shrugged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am… Takemura Goro,” he inclined his head, keeping his gaze away from V. Yeah, buddy, it took me a while, too... “And I thank you for giving me shelter and assistance.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We couldn’t exactly leave you there after you shot that woman,” I shrugged, “Gotta say, not what I expected on this island. How did you even get here?” I shook my head in confusion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am afraid… that I am not at liberty to say,” he took one last sip from the cup and then lay back down on the bed with a heavy sigh. His eyes closed and his breathing began to sound a bit less raspy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Corporate bullshit. Even at the end of the world.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>V wasn’t so keen on sharing my patience in the matter. She picked up the gun and pointed it at the guy, frowning, “Why are you here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He smiled weakly and shook his head. For some reason the entire situation amused him, “If you shoot me, you will never know,” he said, “And I believe this is mine,” he added, squinting at the gun.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“V… please. I really don’t think he’s here to hurt us. He can’t hurt anyone in this state,” I tried to reassure her and myself at the same time. She’s been taught to fear guns, for sure, but if she was the one handling it, she looked incredibly intimidating. It was as if handling one came almost too naturally for her. She wasn’t completely convinced, but lowered her gun and sat on our bed, keeping her attention on Takemura.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I really doubt anyone’s going to ruin your corporate career if you tell us why you’re here, at the literal ass-end of the world,” I decided to try and reason with him, “To be fair with you, I have no clue where I am, so any information you can spare will be helpful.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He regarded me for a moment, I could feel the scrutiny drill deep into my soul, “According to my data, this island is on the Pacific Ocean,” he informed me. I tilted my head to the side at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know. We’re on earth, too, would you believe that?” I quipped and shook my head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You said you did not know…” he replied in his defence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I know where my ship was heading, and you can only drift so far. Besides, based on the species I’ve identified locally, I can certainly tell we’re in the Pacific,” my nostrils flared and I sighed, gesturing for him to continue.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I see,” he stopped squinting at me and nodded slowly, “The woman, she was my target. She fled here, hoping to escape the consequences of her crimes. I was tasked in bringing her to justice,” Takemura explained, eyes closed, “Does this satisfy your curiosity, Ms Alvarez?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Judy, just Judy, please,” I wrinkled my nose at his official tone, “And yeah, I guess it explains things a bit. But how did you get here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I jumped from a plane,” he replied, giving me a slight shrug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I looked up at V, then back at our guest, “So you’re stuck here? Can you call that plane back? Come on, dude, work with me a little bit,” I felt my jaw clench; this guy was testing my patience. I could see V nervously tap her knee with her free hand, gun in the other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. Arrangements have been made for my exfiltration. Once my objective is completed, of course,” he explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean your objective is pretty dead. Nothing’s stopping you from leaving once you get better, right?” I raised my brows. I really hoped it was that easy. And that we could tag along on his exfil as unlucky castaways.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m afraid it is not. My objective has several parts to it,” he replied and moved his hand to his abdomen again, frowning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of course there were complications.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop keeping secrets…” V frowned and shook her head at him, “He’s useless,” she complained to me, clearly at the end of her own patience.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In this state he is, yeah. But if he gets better and does whatever his mission is, maybe we can get out of here. Safely,” I replied. V considered my words for a moment with a hum, “I dunno, Joodee. Sounds like a gonk idea.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In this state you won’t do much, nope. But we could cut a deal if you hear me out,” I offered and he nodded, graciously allowing me to continue.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We help you with whatever you need to do. Well, first we help you get better. And you will help us get out of here. Does that sound fair to you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is fair. But unlikely,” he replied, his tone dry. It was bold of him to make these kinds of comments in his current state.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We could just leave you here to die, maybe your corporation will send someone else to finish the job. Doubt they really care about who does it,” I shrugged. Maybe it was finally my turn to annoy him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His brow furrowed. Did I hit a sore spot? That’d be preem, as the conversation wasn’t leading anywhere constructive.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I would prefer to not endanger you and your… friend,” he glanced at V, still confused. He didn’t dare ask.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, I’ve been here for a while, and I doubt it’s a question of preference, really,” I argued against his logic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He let out a heavy sigh, then wrinkled his nose in pain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As long as you do not get in the way of my work. You lack the training and the experience I have.” This alone told me enough. Whatever they had sent him to do, it must have been important. Guy was terrified of fucking it up. Maybe it was something of a last chance thing after a failed mission? Corps loved punishing people for everything. The rule of thumb was to keep the carrot small and juicy, while the stick was thick and covered in thorns.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, yes. We’re really nothing compared to your bedridden might, choom. I feel so helpless thinking how little I can do. That was some good crawling there,” I reminded him of his attempt to move away from the bed. I was pretty tired of him and his high fucking horse.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There is no need to mock me, miss Judy,” he frowned at me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then how about you have some faith in your new sidekicks?” I quipped and he looked at me with a glint of surprise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You are right. The pain is making me... Not quite amicable, I believe.” His way of saying sorry was really annoying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright then. It’s settled. So what do you have to do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In short, find and destroy enemy assets,” Takemura replied, “According to the intel we’ve acquired, the assets are dangerous and should be approached with extreme caution. Just like the woman I killed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, so there’s more of them?” I raised my brows. Shit. This could indeed get tricky. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Most likely. The exact numbers are unknown. There is supposedly a facility here, devoted to creating them,” he admitted with a frown. His boss would probably tear him a new one for divulging that to us. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you telling me they’re making human weapons in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?” I snorted in mild disbelief, to which he calmly nodded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They have been for years. And a stop will be put to that,” he nodded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why come alone?” V asked. If the human weapons were so dangerous, straight out bombing the place down would have been the corpo way. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am the best available agent to perform this task without the enemy realizing my presence. An all out attack could lead to an open corporate war.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was the last thing anyone needed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck… I knew getting out of here wasn’t going to be easy, but now I’m pretty certain it’s going to be a bit too exciting for my taste.” I frowned and slumped. Superhuman assassins and a secret lab making them. I should have known. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>V reached out and touched my knee with her free hand, determined to chase away my doubts, “Gonna be okay,” she said and smiled at me. I couldn’t help but reciprocate. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… still feel weak. Pardon me,” Takemura groaned. He was covered in sweat and his breathing was shallow. He wasn’t going to complete any missions if a conversation put so much strain on him. Then again, maybe being social was usually this challenging to him?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get some rest, we’ll find you something to eat and make sure you’re back on your feet in no time,” I turned to him and nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The woman. Her body. Where is it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Safe. Why?” V tilted her head to the side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need you to inspect it for me… I am in no state to do so myself,” Takemura requested, “I could draw a reference if you have any paper…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You could also get a nap while we head out to get groceries at Mother Nature’s and find something to help you survive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bone broth,” V hummed and scratched along her ear, “Could hunt a bird,” she offered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, sounds like a plan,” I nodded and smiled at her, then looked at the gun. Wouldn’t leave much of the bird…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bow and arrow, gonk,” she chuckled at me and leaned in to kiss me on the forehead, “Be back soon,” she promised. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I could tell she needed some V alone time to think about it all. And that she’d keep her focus regardless. Naturally, that made me the designated nurse. I could at least keep an eye on Takemura and make sure V wasn’t alone and getting impatient enough to shoot him instead. It was a decent plan for the time being. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, I’ll be waitin’ right here,'' I smiled and reached out to give her hand a squeeze. I sat on our bed and took the gun while V got ready for her outing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Takemura fell back asleep before she was even out of the house. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was still good to keep an eye on him in case something happened. We were sorely lacking in the department of emergency first aid kits, but if I saw him getting paler or more feverish, I could always try and help regulate his temperature. I was pretty sure that rest was all he needed, though. He had to pull through. He was our way out of here, after all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once V was gone, I realized that the trip and the unexpected arrival of our guest managed to interfere with our morning routine of cleaning up and breakfast. Perhaps it was for the better. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face V when naked, especially considering how we spent the better portion of the night. We were still going to share the bed. Not that it bothered me, quite the contrary. I just wondered how things would go from there on. She was more affectionate with me and I liked it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Could we really allow ourselves to move any further? If at all, that is. V’s kisses weren’t exactly chaste, but I didn’t want to make the assumption. Having a vulnerable, groaning Takemura next to our bed wasn’t exactly what I’d call great conditions for getting my game on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were always cuddles and hand holding. That way we’d stay more focused but still remain close. Takemura didn’t give me a lot of details, but the perspective of tackling super assassins wasn’t something I particularly looked forward to. The bit after that - leaving the island - sounded much better. But it was never going to be that easy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I busied myself with a few tasks at home - made some tea in advance to let it cool, so that V had something nice to drink by the time she was back. I peeled and cut some fruit in pieces too, for a future snack. I could even feed Takemura a bit if he decided to wake up. I also wondered about the bit where he mentioned having to check something and wanted to draw us a reference. Perhaps the cyberpsycho had some sort of a mark, a tattoo… as silly as that would be, if she was trying to blend in. Nothing about that woman was subtle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>How did they discover those ‘human weapons’ anyway? My best hypothesis to date was that she must have killed someone important to them and they pursued her. I didn’t know enough about corporate espionage to make bets about how that happened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After preparing drinks and food, I made my way to storage to mark the ‘Frog Jar’ with coal and put it in a place where it couldn’t be mistaken for the regular painkiller. I looked at the container fondly. Its magic did bring V and me together… I put it back into a safe spot with a smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then I almost had a heart attack, as my companion seemed to burst from the floor behind me, grinning, “Hey,” she said softly, grinning. That gonk was always incredibly proud of herself for managing to sneak up on me like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I playfully swatted her across on the upper arm, “I almost had a heart attack!” I whispered dramatically; I didn't want to wake Takemura too early.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But you didn’t!” the grin remained plastered to her face. She kept her hands behind her back for a moment. Was she trying to be all innocent with me? V was hiding something, I could tell by the cheeky spark in her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it…?” her smile was infectious, the corners of my lips moved upwards as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With her gaze on me, she revealed a bouquet of wild flowers and held it up in front of me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re beautiful!” I gasped and covered my mouth, watching the combination of purple, red, blue, and orange plants.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For you,” she said and handed me the bouquet, “Dad sometimes picked flowers for mom…” she shrugged and despite my reservations about wasting wildlife, I couldn’t help but take the flowers and smell them. I smiled like a gonk and looked up at V.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Joodee Aflowers in her natural, uh… environment,” she beamed a wide smile at her own quip. I shook my head and moved the bouquet to the side so it didn’t get squished, then stepped in to kiss her on the cheek, “Oh, V…” we ended up cuddling up to each other for a few wonderful moments, “Thank you so much,” I whispered and felt her peck me on the shaved side of my head. Sadly, hair was beginning to grow back there. And my roots were starting to show. No, I didn’t want to think about that. V holding me was a much nicer thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As I lifted my head from V’s shoulder, our gazes locked and our breaths met for a moment, right before our lips did. I couldn’t deny the pull between us, the attraction was obvious. And very much mutual. With my hands wrapped around the back of V’s neck, flowers still in hand, I pressed myself close to her as we got lost in the kiss.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a simple, but much needed confirmation of what we had done the night before. I didn’t want the kiss to end. V’s lips felt so soft against mine, and we both went as far as to let our tongues poke out and slide against each other. I could hear myself moan and I almost dropped the flowers. It was quickly becoming too much for my poor, wobbly knees. I had to physically force myself to pull away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Something wrong?” V asked with concern. Her breath was hot and quick against mine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No… no. It’s great. Perfect. We should just… Keep focused. This is wonderful, V. And incredibly distracting. We shouldn’t… not before we figure out what’s going on with our guest.” I reminded her. The way her shoulders slumped told me a lot about what she’d rather do instead, but it also kind of proved my point.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah… yeah,” V nodded slowly. She leaned in again to kiss my forehead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But maybe once we help him we can finally get out of here… or at least stop worrying about him seeing us or pulling something funny,” I shot her a sheepish smile and gave her an audible smooch on the cheek.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, did you hunt anything good?” I wondered, leading V away from our side store room and back to the kitchen. It turned out she managed to bag a few small birds, just enough to cook a nice pot of soup. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While V busied herself with plucking and butchering them, I gathered water and ground some of our herbs to prepare a primitive antiseptic. Takemura’s bandages would definitely need a change, and we could use the paste together with dried leaves to press against his wounds and keep them nice and closed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Despite all the giddiness that filled me after the kiss, I managed to keep my focus. Maybe it was the knowledge of V actually feeling the attraction outside the trip that made me so confident. It’s not like I hadn’t seen the signs before… I just didn’t know whether I wanted to acknowledge them. But here we were, two consenting adults from two worlds, getting the teenage hots for each other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One pot of poultry stock with a few local root veggies later, we fed and cleaned Takemura and gave him a leaf and some charcoal to draw that reference. Once he was done drawing, he explained to me that the human weapons could be identified if someone could take a good look at their links and ports. They were non-standard for some reason, but only if one were to take a good look. I took his picture and made my way to the half-buried body of the cyberpsycho. She did indeed have non-standard input ports.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was only one major problem. They looked exactly like the ones I spotted on V.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. All sound dies in shame</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Judy doesn't like what she found out and tries to cope with it. Takemura is a delight to be around. V is sweet and gives us all hope in humanity.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I decided it was time to try. Sorry if the quality of this chapter is subpar... but I wanted to put something out. Continue the story. Show you guys I'm still around and that I'm not letting the bad vibes eat me.</p>
<p>Thank you for reading. I'll reply to the comments when I can/when I have enough spoons to do so. I appreciate every view, every kudo, every comment. Thank you.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I didn’t want to believe what I saw. I certainly did not want to acknowledge the implications. After all, Takemura hadn’t recovered completely, so his drawing could be misrepresenting the input ports.  There was also a possibility that I didn't remember the way the chrome on the side of V's neck really looked. I was in deep denial. My V? My wonderful, caring, slightly awkward kind-of-girlfriend? It's not like we broached the subject of committing, but the energy between us was pretty damn obvious. No. Not her.</p>
<p>I just didn't think V had it in her to be a psycho cyber killer. Sure, she was agile, quick, and her reflexes were amazing, but that was just growing up the way she did, wasn't it? The difficulties and challenges posed by her situation were what forged her into this amazon-like form. I honestly couldn't see even a shred of hostility or evil in her. </p>
<p>She was stubborn and I did get a bit scared when she outright carried me to the water's edge to show me her old house but that didn't give her the markings of a super soldier assassin. For a moment I wondered whether there was really no evidence supporting my train of thought... or like a very biased and very bad scientist, I did not want there to be any evidence of it. If the results do not fit the hypothesis, many are quick to avoid drawing conclusions. Don't do that, though. That's bad research. </p>
<p>The very things I mentioned may have been signs that I decided to conveniently ignore. Her speed, her strength, her ease of hunting. What if that alone confirmed what Takemura was proposing? Looking at V from the other side opened up a deep, uncomfortable pit in my stomach. Things in my head began to click, pieces of the puzzle fell into tentative places that made too much sense for me to push them out of my consciousness.</p>
<p>I had to check. I had to make sure that Takemura wasn't just talking out of his feverish, recovering ass. One possibility I hadn't considered was that he was just plain crazy from finding himself on a tropical island and fighting off some rando 'borg, which in turn made him paranoid and convinced him that the world is full of those. But if that was the case, how come he could have known about the way V's input ports looked like? I guess my denial was deep if I was willing to entertain such hypotheses.</p>
<p>V was conveniently busy cleaning up after the cooking, so I went outside to check the ports on the recently deceased cyber psycho. The ports weren't difficult to find, and despite the dirt, I could easily tell that they were similar to those V had. They may have been made from a different alloy, perhaps newer, but their shape matched, for sure. I covered her back with leaves and retreated, since the temperature  on the island didn't exactly lend itself to preserving the freshness of a corpse.</p>
<p>Did that mean V was some kind of a prototype? Some form of a trained, vat-grown super assassin? No. She was the cutest awkward dork, had the warmest smile, and whenever she looked at me, I felt like I was positively melting, and not having to run for my life because she would murder me. </p>
<p>Sometimes her glances made feel a different kind of warmth simply because of their intensity, and the poorly disguised lust lining them. I didn't pay much attention to them at first, but now that I knew that there was more to them and we inevitably moved into the direction of make-outs, I was pretty sure that there was more behind it. Now with Takemura in our little paradise, and cyber psychos roaming around... Well, it really was a shame we couldn't explore our feelings further. It was just my luck.</p>
<p>I could really go for a cigarette. Just a few quick drags, something to clear my mind. Times like these I really regretted quitting. Then again, if I were caught cold turkey on the island, I would just most likely go crazy.</p>
<p>V joined me on the porch, taking a seat next to me. I smiled when she gave me a playful shoulder bump, then  offered me a mug of warm tea.</p>
<p>“So...” V started and frowned. She wanted to express herself properly but it still cost her quite some effort.</p>
<p>“So...” I responded in kind, showing that not every utterance had to be quick and eloquent. She was already making amazing progress, “Is this some magic brew again?” I wondered, “Not sure if I can manage through another night of trippin', V.”</p>
<p>“No, no. Just tea. Not to worry, Joodee,” she smiled at me, but the corners of her lips soon moved down and she frowned again. “More fighting. Not great,” she sighed and I nodded, taking a sip of the herbal brew. </p>
<p>It was certainly a good idea to make some, even if she hadn't asked if I felt like any. Wasn't a cigarette, but it had a calming quality to it.</p>
<p>“No, not really. I ain't a fighter, can tell you that much,” I scoffed at myself, shaking my head.</p>
<p>“It's okay, Joodee Aflowers. Gonna fight for you,” V puffed out her chest, “Keep you safe. I promise,” she smiled at me. That was just the cutest thing ever. Her being all protective, even if I wasn't really the type to buy into any macho bullshit. V just somehow made it feel okay, maybe ‘cause the danger was real and it wasn't just words. She had saved my life twice so far, one way or another, and she was true to her word.</p>
<p>“And what am I gonna do? Sit 'round lookin' pretty?” I asked. Not being a merc was a bit frustrating in the current situation.</p>
<p>“Always do,” V quipped and smirked at me from behind her cup of tea, trying to hide her smug grin  under the guise of a sip.</p>
<p>“Alright, you charmer. Is that how you're gonna play it from now on? Sweet words and flowers to butter me up, huh?” I raised my brows at her. If she was going to keep doing that, I wasn't just going to remain idle about it.</p>
<p>“Just like seeing you smile. Aflowers for you,” she shrugged and looked up at me. I felt an instant surge of warmth filling my very core. It was one of those smouldering stares that were almost impossible to recover from. You know, the kind that makes you lose the ability to speak properly. Or even brain, in some cases, “Don't need many words anyway.”</p>
<p>She took another sip of her tea, taking some kind of primal, almost predatory pleasure satisfaction from watching me blush. The sun was setting and it was getting darker by the minute, but it did nothing to help hide  the angry red blotches on my cheeks. No words, huh? Oh, I was going to show her no words. </p>
<p>I set my cup down and moved to straddle her, my hands instantly moved to V's cheeks. She quickly put her tea away as well and wrapped her arms around me. This was the least responsible thing to do at that moment, surely, but that stare managed to shift my priorities and make me forget about cyberpsycho assassins. I saw that as a good thing.</p>
<p>Our gazes remained locked for a few moments. It didn't last. My lips were on hers before I could even think of saying anything. She welcomed it and tightened her hold around me. Shivers ran down my spine and I pressed myself against her as we slowly rocked together. Gone was the slow and tentative kissing from before. This was definitely more unhinged, on both sides. A full-on make-out, even without the frog jar. We didn't need it anymore. We needed each other. Naked. In that very fucking moment.</p>
<p>V's hand moved under my thighs and she lifted me without much effort, taking a few steps forward to lie me down gently on the ground in front of the porch. Turning around and making the few steps to get to the bed would definitely be the more comfortable solution, but we didn't have that kind of time.</p>
<p>I wanted her so much. It was a raw need, a desire I've never felt for anyone in my life before with this intensity and I was more than ready to give into it and let V do wonderful and naughty things to me. My hand moved to her hair when I felt her lips on my neck, warm, gentle, but greedy, stealing suckling kisses before she tried a more daring nip, eliciting a low moan from me. For a lonely woman growing up on an island, V surely knew how to make me melt with her touches.</p>
<p>I could feel her hands on my sides, touching my skin, tentatively reaching further up. We parted from our kiss in a rather sloppy manner just so I could nod and breathe out, “Don't stop, keep going,” to give her the green light.</p>
<p>She wanted me too, I could feel it. But at the same time, there was this cute, tentative element to her exploratory touches. Her warm hands roamed my skin, making me feel … worshipped. I felt her hand untie the knot on my top, so she could slide under the fabric and touch the underside of my breasts. I wish I were more patient, really, but instead I just wrapped my legs around her to keep her close and urge her on. Fuck, I needed this. I wanted this. Finally, we were right where I wanted us to be and there was nothing that could...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A creak of a board</p>
<p>He clears his throat quietly</p>
<p>All sound dies in shame</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I do beg your pardon, ladies, but I believe we should focus on the situation at hand,” Takemura spoke. He managed to turn around after witnessing us on the ground and his face was only half turned, making him look like a guy from a samurai movie, about to go on a 5 minute monologue before he goes off to his death.</p>
<p>Fuck me. Except not that time.</p>
<p>V closed her eyes and rested her forehead against my shoulder. I patted her head, “I know, V. I know,” I whispered and kissed her on the head. Resigned, she pushed herself away from me, shooting me a sheepish grin. We were not done. We didn't even begin properly, but we were going to go back to this topic, for sure.</p>
<p>She sat down next to me and pulled me up to a sitting position as well. We were like two guilty teenagers, fixing our hair after being caught making out by strict parents. Except we didn't care to be told off that much.</p>
<p>“Ya know, it's rude to just perv on us like this. Give women some privacy,” I frowned at him.</p>
<p>“I was not aware of your activities,” he replied, picking his words carefully, “I was feeling good enough to stand up and I wished to inform you about this development. May I turn around now?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, we're decent. Ish.” I added that last syllable when he was mid turn, causing him to do a double take. I was going to have some fun, even if it was going to be at his expense, and not the kind of fun I was aching to do. God, I was so fucking wet that I was sure V could smell it on me, considering how sharp her senses were.</p>
<p>“Very good,” Takemura nodded and sat down on the porch. He was still taking things easy, but it was a good sign to see him up and about, from a medical perspective, at least, “My drawings. Have they helped you confirm that the woman comes from the facility?”</p>
<p>“Yeah... Yeah, they did,” I nodded. They suggested V was from there as well. And there was no way in hell I was going to tell this corpo gun about that. My V was a precious treasure and even if I wasn't much of a fighter, I could protect her by... conveniently avoiding certain announcements. </p>
<p>Technically, I wasn't lying. Something told me he wouldn't hesitate to shoot V in the head right in front of me, if he knew that getting one last of his enemies was going to please his zaibatsu overlords. No way in hell I'd let that happen to my V.</p>
<p>I caught myself smiling like a gonk at that thought. My V. We still needed to make it official and become girlfriends. Well, we were living together already, sorta, but being old-fashioned in some aspects, I preferred to ask. Always. I got burned one too many times when I thought it was the beginning of something special, but the other side only saw it as a pleasant distraction. Wasn't gonna let me burn that again. I needed my skin for ink.</p>
<p>“Ms Alvarez. Judy. And are you sure?” Takemura's voice pulled me back to reality.</p>
<p>“Yes. I mean you can check it yourself. She's right over there, under some leaves,” I shrugged.</p>
<p>He stood up on shaky legs and made his way to the woman's temporary resting place. He spent a few moments kneeling at her side, then looked over his shoulder and gave us another nod.</p>
<p>“Then it is decided. Tomorrow, we move,” Like that was going to tell me anything or explain what he had in mind.</p>
<p>“Move where?” V asked, probably as confused as I was.</p>
<p>“To the facility,” Takemura replied.</p>
<p>“Oh, how are we gonna find that?” I scoffed. Magic, surely.</p>
<p>“Please. Go inside. I will make everything clear in a moment,” he inclined his head in what looked like a respectful half-bow and turned back to the woman. He didn't move until we did. I led V back to the house and we sat on the bed, waiting for the grand revelation.</p>
<p>“Sorry...” V said, reaching for my hand.</p>
<p>“Oh no, no, don't be. I liked that,” I reassured her.</p>
<p>She looked up at me with a spark in her eyes, her lips curled up in a warm smile, “Yeah?”</p>
<p>“Oh yeah. A lot. I want more. I want you to touch me, V. When we... uh, got a moment,” I chuckled and rested my forehead against her strong shoulder.</p>
<p>“I want to touch you, too, Joodee Aflowers. Everywhere,” she admitted, making me blush. I was also feeling a bit mischievous, so I couldn't help but boop her nose, “There too?”</p>
<p>“Kisses, yes,” she replied, and I swear, that was the cutest thing I've ever heard from another woman.</p>
<p>“Don't worry... I know what you mean. It's just that... conditions ain't ideal at the moment,” I sighed and she agreed with a wistful nod, glancing towards the door.</p>
<p>“Soon. We do the thing,” Oh boy, she wasn't going to waste any time... “We kill the bad ones,” Oh right. That's totally what I was thinking, too, “And then I can kiss you all over,” she nodded and smiled at me, blushing as furiously as I was. I couldn't help but lean in and steal a quick kiss.</p>
<p>“It's a deal. Gonna hold you to it,” I furtively licked my bottom lip after we parted and I could just see the effect it had on V. She was suffering from a debilitating case of horny, that much was obvious.</p>
<p>Takemura came back into the house with bloodied hands, holding up some kind of a chip in one hand and a knife in the other, “There it is! Our passage to the facility!”</p>
<p>V stood up in a split second, aiming her arm blade at him, seeing his entry as a form of a threat.</p>
<p>“Jesus fuck, Takemura, you can't just walk in like a fuckin' psycho... Wash off that blood, put that fucking knife away and maybe then we'll talk?” I stood up as well, trying to mediate before they were going to hurt each other, “V, take it easy... he's on our side. He's just... still recovering.”</p>
<p>The two kept staring at each other for a moment more before Takemura yielded first and moved to wash his hands with a bowl while V settled down and sat next to me again.</p>
<p>Finally, it was time for some explanations. According to Goro, the chip acted as a two way location system. So that was the first liability. It would show up the location of the cyberpsycho to whoever made them, but it would also guide the alleged assassin back to the facility with ease, wherever they were in the world.</p>
<p>“So they'll know we're coming. Great.”</p>
<p>“They will think it is her.”</p>
<p>“After being offline for so long? Are you out of your mind? Their recovery team or something is probably on the way, since the tech's so precious. Damnit, why didn't you tell us there's a big red target on us?” I was beginning to boil. This kind of warmth was definitely not welcome. Made me wanna slap a gonk.</p>
<p>“Let them come, I say. It will only make it easier to reach them,” Takemura was stubborn.</p>
<p>“And what, let the three of us face against their squat of heavily armed, armored corpo soldiers? Man, I think your fever's gone worse,” I shook my head.</p>
<p>“This location is remote. I do not believe they would make efforts to recover a unit that had sustained damage and likely reported it to them before going offline,” he was doing his best to be optimistic.</p>
<p>“Then either they're stupid or out of business, because leaving this for chance isn't something I'd see a bunch of people who make chrome assassins for a living do with such ease,” I spat out, frowning. V gave my hand a squeeze, and I appreciated it a lot. I wanted to strangle Takemura for interrupting us, and this convo surely wasn't helping his case. But maybe...</p>
<p>“Do you got any tools with you? Anything that can be used to take a look at this chip? And that's still working, of course. I could tinker with it.” I offered.</p>
<p>“Tinker with it? And possibly obscure the location of the facility if it backfires?” He frowned and shook his head.</p>
<p>“No. Switch off the tracking on our side. If I can separate them or loop the signal to the last known location instead of forcing it to regularly ping and give them updates, I'd make it into a one sided guidance system. We'll have the biometrics, their systems should let us it, provided they're not big on cameras... but they won't know we're coming. Gives us an element of surprise.”</p>
<p>Takemura did not expect that. His expression was deliciously dumbfounded. </p>
<p>“I do have... a small reader, yes,” he started searching through his pockets and produced a device with a small screen, size of a booklet, flat but with a flexible screen so one couldn't break it when accidentally sitting on it.</p>
<p>“I'm gonna need some time on this. I'm gonna take my cold tea and go to the kitchen, and you two better not kill yourself while I'm busy.”</p>
<p>“That will not be an issue. I will leave you to it and... continue recuperating,” Takemura said and wiped sweat from his forehead, proceeding to lie down.</p>
<p>“Gonna go fish,” V muttered, “Joodee gonna be okay with the thing?”</p>
<p>“More than okay, babe. I'll make it safer. Less fighting,” I smiled. I knew V understood more than she could say, as was often the case with recovering language, but I still wanted to reassure her.</p>
<p>“Babe,” she tilted her head to the side at me and smiled, “Like darling? Or honey?” she wondered. Maybe that was what her parents used?</p>
<p>“Yeah. A bit. Just for you and me,” I quipped and grinned at her.</p>
<p>“For Joodee and V,” she nodded. Yup, now we officially owned that word a bit. Together. I could go along with that.</p>
<p>V gave my hand one more squeeze and went to retrieve her spear, some nets, and a bucket. Watching her do spearfishing was kinda hypnotising. She did that on a few occasions, and she was quick and precise every time. Gave me a chance to ogle her a bit, too.</p>
<p>We had a battle to fight, so we needed to eat well. I completely understood her logic, from the survival point of view. I moved to the kitchen and booted up the reader to familiarise myself with the system and do a few checks before I could even think of connecting myself to it.</p>
<p>It felt really good to hold a piece of tech in my hands again. I missed it. Civilisation had left its mark on me, I wasn't a child of the wild by any stretch. I needed chrome, microprocessors, networks, and neons in my life. A part of me wondered whether V could ever find herself in an environment like that, in the long run. Something told me she'd do just fine. She'd do great. She was a natural born survivor. Well, perhaps not natural, if she really was connected to that facility in any way.</p>
<p>The chip had an interesting architecture. Intricate at first glance, but more as a show of know-how and to intimidate a junior techie rather than really hide something that was so simple. GPS tech was ancient by human standards in my day and age, and tweaking the whole system a bit didn't take me that long. It was enjoyable to wrestle with a bit of silicone as well. It put me right in my element, and knowing I beat it and adjusted it scratched a bit of an itch I've been having ever since I washed up on the island. There were other kinds of itches, too but... that'd have to wait for a moment of some damn privacy.</p>
<p>I must have been a bit out of practice, because the effort, the emotions of the day, and just everything combined had left me quite drained. When done, I safely stowed the chip and the reader – away from Takemura's grubby hands for the time being, as I didn't want him to ruin my work with his impatience, and went to bed.</p>
<p>When V got home, quiet as a cat on the floor, I only woke up when I felt her cuddle up to me on the bed and give me a gentle kiss on the head. Oh, this woman. She was amazing and I wanted her in my life until the end of days. I enjoyed feeling so hopelessly head-over-heels about her. Against all odds, and the wacky circumstances... it felt right. It really felt like we could make something out of it. Make it work in our own way.</p>
<p>I had to wait for her to fall asleep and turn to the other side. Only when I heard her calm, deep breaths did I turn around to face the uncomfortable truth. I lifted her hair gently, slowly, like a sneak-thief, and took a look at her ports in the dim moonlight that got through the windows to make the house a bit less pitch-dark. There was no escaping the facts. V's ports looked like the ones of the cyber assassin. If I were to be picky, I'd say they didn't look as... sophisticated? Less slick? Earlier iterations, perhaps, if I were to make an educated guess.</p>
<p>She wasn't one of them. Perhaps she had been groomed to be, but she definitely wasn't a part of some crazy bunch of assassins. I could no longer deny that the ports matched, but no one was going to take away my faith in V. I wrapped my hand around her, pulling up the blanket, and cuddled up. It was my turn to spoon her, and feeling her warmth helped me fall asleep. Even if we were on a suicide mission with Takemura, I still had my time with V. Wouldn't trade it for the world. And the facility? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. </p>
<p>I chose to be hopeful.</p>
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